Side Chapter – Cless - Chapter 2

Author's note: I just finished this one and wanted to get it out immediately. Tomorrow is the 30th already.

Let me know what you think :). It was a little difficult for me to get in the flow but I feel like the second half went better.

I apologize for this being the only side chapter this month. I do want to provide at least something for you 10$ lads. I know the content isn't much for the additional 5$ and I want to encourage you to maybe drop down and only select the 10 one every couple months to get a little more out of it.

It's mostly a support tier and I really do appreciate you :)! I know this isn't doing anything for you but I still felt like mentioning it. Thank you!

Side Chapter – Cless - Chapter 2

Cless looked past her canvas, the rectangular shape showing strikes of vibrant colors.

She watched them fight, two against two. Dany, the healer and huntress, her bow drawn and aimed at Philly.

The arrow clashed into a barrier of ice, stopped with a cracking noise. The wall splintered and exploded in a thousand tiny shards that were flung back at the healer.

Roots broke out of the ground, moving through and intercepting the shards.

“I did it!” Rahpia shouted in joy.

“You missed a couple.” Dany said, laughing. “Ah… damn.” She moaned and ripped out the shard of ice embedded in her cheek. “Ow.” The wound healed again quickly.

“Apologies.” Philly said. “I didn’t mean to throw them so fast.”

“I told you, it’s just part of the training.” Dany said and jumped aside, narrowly dodging the appearing dust mage.

Spikes made of dust were connected to his arms and slashed through thin air. “Don’t hold back Philly. They wanted to do this.” He said and vanished once more, spears of wood flying past him.

“To me.” Raphia said, roots forming out of thin air, twirling around her in a circle. Sharp thorns adorned the wooden tendrils.

They opened up and let in Dany, her bow at the ready as she twirled and drew.

Cornelius was gone once more, appearing a dozen meters behind them. A dust cloud formed and slowly made its way towards the two.

A shower of ice came from above, slashing down through the dust. Impacts on wood were audible before Raphia yelped out.

“Enough.” Philly spoke in a commanding tone.

The dust moved away, revealing Raphia with deep cuts on her face and shoulder. They were already healing thanks to Dany.

“We’re not ready yet.” The healer said, disappointed as she rubbed Raphia’s neck. “Are you alright?”

“That hurt.” The girl exclaimed before she sat down on the floor.

Cornelius walked over and sighed. “Your wooden barrier is not up to the task. Not against someone as strong as her.” He nodded towards Philly.

“But I can’t run around either, you’re too mobile.” Dany said. “And my arrows do nothing.”

“They will, once you level up your skills more.” Philly said in a neutral tone. “You’re a healer, your arrows will never be as effective as my ice.”

Cornelius nodded. “Normally I would agree but you’ve seen what Ilea can do.” He commented. “I’ll reach the same level at some point.”

“We all will. We just have to keep training.” Dany said.

“We could also go out and kill monsters. Our levels will rise much more quickly.” Raphia said.

“You are already much stronger.” Philly said. “And we need to learn how to work together, get better as a team before we start doing more dangerous missions.”

Cless listened to them and finished her painting. Dust, ice and wood intertwined in a beautiful combination of colors, the violence and power of the elements palpable on the canvas.

“This one is nice.” She smiled and took a step back.

Raphia walked over after their conversation came to an end. “Cless? Do you want to join us for dinner?”

She shook her head and pointed at her art. “I want to show the painting to Leia!” She grabbed the canvas and put it under her arm. The paint was dry already, not made by alchemy but through mana alone.

Opening her spell book, Cless flipped it to an empty page and drew the elevator leading down into the Haven. It was perhaps half an hour away if she were to walk the whole way.

She nodded happily, activating her spell and closing her eyes. She felt warmth rush through her as a big chunk of her mana points were used.

When she opened her eyes once more, she was standing in front of the elevator. Cless jumped up and made a fist with her unburdened hand. “First try!”

Her spell book nearly slipped from her grip but she calmed down and managed to catch it. “Oh no.” She exclaimed, looking awkwardly at the two Shadows that walked to the elevator.

One wore full plate black armor and was as tall and broad as a bear. His sword was many times the size of Cless and probably a hundred times as heavy.

The other one wore robes and had a mask on, not much unlike the one Sully wore.

“Hey Cless.” The big man said, waving at her.

She waved back and ran away, a little intimidated by them. Every Shadow is powerful, level two hundred at least. As much she had learned in her lessons.

William reminded her many times that she had to be respectful and nice to them. To anybody really but she had learned that in school already, back in England.

Sometimes she missed her parents but Claire told her that if she worked hard, maybe at some point, she could go back and visit them. It was difficult, she had said. Ilea was perhaps looking for a way too. Cless knew she was from Earth as well. Maybe not England.

“Good evening Cless, came to visit Leia?” The nice Shadowguard usually working near the fields asked. He was one of a couple that protected the nature mages.

Like farmers. Cless remembered. Superfarmers. She giggled at the thought. The could use magic to make plants and vegetables grow. To get food for the whole city. New fields sprung up nearly every week.

“Hello.” She said back and clutched her book and canvas, walking past the guard and through the gate he opened.

A low wall that was permanently moved and expanded, made of thick stone and surrounding the fields. She had been told it was to stop the demons, in case one of them escaped.

The demon lake. She had been close by but was only allowed to go when William was there. Demons were dangerous. Monsters that ate people.

Cless liked to draw them. They reminded her of rowdy little dogs. Much more dangerous to humans, she knew that. Dany had to heal the team several times after they had attempted to fight one.

Leia was sitting in her movable chair near the field she tended to. It had wheels put on the sides and handles to push it. A guard stood nearby, just in case she needed something or wanted to move.

“Hello Leia! Hello Clarence!” Cless shouted and waved, careful not to step into the field. She knew Leia hated it when she did that.

“Welcome back. Aren’t you late for dinner?” Clarence asked with a smile.

“I ate something earlier.” Cless said. “I made a new painting. Look.” She held the canvas up and walked in front of Leia.

The woman couldn’t turn very well and didn’t like to move around much. Cless didn’t mind. The canvas wasn’t very heavy. “It’s Dany, Cornelius, Philly and Raphia! They’re so strong now, shooting around magic like Claire and Trian!”

“It’s a lovely painting.” Clarence said as he pushed off the wall and walked closer, crouching down next to Leia. “Don’t you think so?”

Cless glanced past the canvas and saw the edges of Leia’s lips twitch a little. She immediately beamed at that and hid again behind the painting. She likes it!

“Are they that strong already?” Clarence asked. He stood up again and looked up. “I’m going to fall behind.”

Cless didn’t know what level he had but he seemed more peaceful than the others. “You have to go and fight demons, then you will be stronger in no time!” She gave him a thumbs up.

“That’s a great idea. Very dangerous of course but I will think about it.” Clarence replied with a smile.

“Do you want to leave the painting here? I can put it up in her house.” The man suggested.

“Really? But there are so many already.” Cless said in an uncertain tone, looking at the man with big eyes.

“Of course. I’ll ask Leia where to put it. We’re going to have dinner soon though. Did you want to stay?” He asked.

Cless thought about it, sighing deeply. “Hmm.” She wasn’t sure. She had eaten something already and she didn’t want to have a stomach ache. Eating too much did that. Not to aunt Ilea but to everyone else.

“I think I will go visit Iana.” She decided and informed him. The enchantress had moved to Ravenhall last week and worked with Trian and Christopher. She always had interesting things to talk about and Cless liked to play with Aki too.

“Then do that. Have fun, Cless.” Clarence said.

She gave him the painting and waved at both of them. “Bye!”

Her spell to appear in other places didn’t work here. Not if she wanted to get in and out. She had to use the elevator like everyone else. Claire told her it had something to with enchantments. The same was true for the city walls.

It was annoying.

At least she was allowed to walk around now.

Cless ran through the city, her spell book in hand as the cold air rushed through her hair. People jumped out of the way but she didn’t have a problem navigating through them.

Running was one of her favorite things to do. She had not been allowed to run in the house, only in the forest. Now she could run everywhere she wanted. Even in Claire’s office. Sometimes Claire would put up a barrier to stop her but that was ok.

She reached her destination quite quickly, knocking on the door as hard as she could. Her spell didn’t work here either. It was really annoying. Why did they use enchantments all the time.

Magic is useless with all of this!

Someone opened the door. A girl wearing black pants and a black shirt. Her face immediately lit up when she saw Cless and she opened the door a little wider to allow her inside.

“Thank you!” Cless shouted and ran past, through the lobby and down the stairs. Four flights before she came up on a closed metal gate. It was huge. At least five times Cless if she lay down next to it.

Again, she knocked. Harder this time and with her book.

Magic suddenly glowed on the gate before it opened up. Just wide enough to let her in. “Come on in, Cless!” The shout came from further back.

She squeezed through and heard the gate closing again behind herself.

There were a lot of workbenches here, crates as well as piles of things. Metals and strange objects Cless had no clue about what they were.

Aki was circling around a slab of stone in an open space down another broad flight of stairs. Sometimes his arms lashed into the slab. He was faster than the team earlier. Too fast to paint maybe.

“If we reverse the sixth layer, we could try applying it to the prototype. The limitation shouldn’t apply to our system. Not if we manage to lock the gates as you had suggested.” Christopher’s voice resounded from another room. He sounded excited.

Cless had noticed that the man had been more excited lately. She knew it was because of Iana. Iana was great!

Cless waited in the doorway, looking into the room where Iana and Christopher were standing near a large and wide table. Many papers and artifacts were strewn around on it. Cless knew not to touch any of them.

“Cless.” Iana said with a tired smile, rubbing her eyes. She looked at Christopher. “Can we continue in four or five hours? I need to get some sleep. It’s been days.”

“But we’re so close to a breakthrough!” The man replied, disappointed before he nodded suddenly. “Of course, of course. Apologies. We’ve had breakthroughs aplenty. And there is no rush. It’s just… so exciting to work… with you.” He scratched the back of his head and smiled.

“I agree but working too much isn’t going to help anyone. I know my limits and sleep will improve our productivity in the long run. Sleep and fun. You should train with Aki too, he’s always excited to work with new people.” Iana suggested.

“No… I think, I’d rather not face another Taleen machine. It… it’s been too often that I nearly…,” He looked at Cless and gulped before he chuckled. “You know.”

“Of course. I’m not forcing you to do anything. Do you want to play with Aki?” She looked at Cless now and walked over.

The girl nodded, a wide grin on her face. “Yes!”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy. Come on, I wanted to get some exercise in too before I sleep.” Iana said and nodded to Christopher, tapping Cless on the head before she walked past her and towards Aki.

“Aki! Want to fight something more interesting than a slab of stone?” The enchantress asked, stepping down the stairs.

“New enemies to face?” Aki asked in his deep voice, moving on top of the slab with a quick maneuver, his six bladed arms extended. Green eyes glowed brightly. “I would love to.”