Tsaimath

Chapter 394

The short battle against the Rock Lions had been one of a couple we had over the last couple of days of moving through the mountains. It seemed that the local wildlife was a lot more aggressive and predatory than elsewhere, or maybe they were simply hungry. Similarly, hunting had been rather sparse and difficult, the few mountain-goats we had seen quick to flee and difficult to spot or later track. There had been some success, mostly by cheating with magic, but it was quite obvious that the a...

Chapter 393

A single small rock, rolling down hill, was all the warning we got. Moments after that single rock started its journey downwards, towards the path we were on, a rumbling roar echoed through the mountains. The rumbling turned into a constant sound, as large parts of the hillside came crashing down towards us. Without time to think, I simply reacted, letting Astral Power gush out of me, forcing the world to obey my will. Instantly, Runes appeared in front of me, glowing with silver-white light ...

Chapter 392

“You missed our session last week.” Mrs Wu casually stated, as I was taking a moment to get my laboured breathing under control. My whole body was aching from the contortions required to perform the forms Mrs Wu had taught me. But, even as my body was in pain, my mind was elated, endorphins flooding my system. Finally, I had progressed to the point that Mrs Wu, my rather elderly teacher, was unable to just show me what I was learning, instead having to resort to explanations and simplifie...

Chapter 391

“Master, do I really have to?” Rai asked, looking at me with a pleading look on his face. We had been moving as fast as possible for the last three days, since leaving the Bright Hollow, giving us enough of a headstart to continue our journey at a normal pace, meaning I was able to continue with my magical experimentation. After considering what magic I wanted to focus on, I had decided to do the unintuitive thing, continuing to try mastering all forms of magic I currently had access to. ...

Chapter 390

“And you think this will work?” I asked Lenore, as we were flying back to the others.

“Think about it.” she replied, with a mental smirk, before explaining. “If, tomorrow, we would get a magical message from Dura Friebringer, telling us we would perish if we take a specific path, would you instantly decide to rush down that path as fast as possible?” she asked, causing me to mentally agree even if such a warning came from someone who was most likely an enemy, I wouldn’t ac...

Chapter 389

Once Lenore was safely concealed within the canopy of a large tree, just on the edge of the forest, I pushed myself out of my Hallow, taking up a perch next to her. Somehow, despite my precarious position, squatting on a narrow branch, it felt good to me, balanced.

“Let’s see how well this works.” Lenore suggested, before explaining her plan. “Can you create the shell, as if I was going to use it to scry? No need to make it avian, if you prefer a humanoid form, that shouldn’t ...

Chapter 388

A night of rest had done both, Lenore and me, a world of good. In the pale twilight of the early morning, the world looked a lot better than it had the day before. Sure, there was now another place we weren’t welcome any longer but had I ever planned to go back there? No, not really. There might have been quests, maybe some insight into the nature of Life and Death that I could have gained by witnessing a birth, maybe some knowledge regarding spirits and the way of communing with them, but ...

Chapter 387

It was quite late, the sun already vanishing behind the horizon, when we decided to make camp. We had marched as fast as possible for the entire day, just slowing down long enough to get some food into us, putting a lot of distance between the orcish valley and us. We had managed to completely leave it, and the immediate vicinity, but there was simply little gain in hurrying even further, driving us into exhaustion.

A little earlier, maybe an hour before we stopped, Lenore had gone up a...

Chapter 386

We managed to get out of the orc-settlement without further incident, the locals looked at us with interest, maybe because we had Apprentice Klenda walking next to us, looking visibly angry. When walking through the gates, I had been able to hear her talk to the guards, telling them that we were no longer welcome, making me decide that maybe, walking a little faster was a good idea. If there were any orcs, trying to come after us for one reason or another, distance was the best defense, along...

Chapter 385

“Did any of you leave something behind in the rooms we’ve been given?” I asked my companions, as we made our way down-hill, ignoring the Elder’s apprentice who was still moving with us. Part of me wanted to inquire why but given that I had been ignoring her the whole time, I decided to simply continue doing so. If she wanted to make sure we actually were leaving, she was welcome to do so, I had no plans to stick around. Not with the awkward situation Dura Firebringer hat put me in, wi...

Rewrite - Chapter 7

Once again, I was in the grip of vertigo, only this time, it lasted longer. I felt like I was falling, only to realise that I wasn’t just feeling that way. I was falling. Falling, towards a planet, giving me a magnificent view, one that was hard to describe. What had to be massive mountain-ranges looked like tiny molehills, continents appeared to fit into the palm of my hand, oceans, nothing more than puddles. It was awe-inspiring.

But, alas, Gravity had to assert itself and I was goi...

Chapter 384

For a second, I just stood there, stunned by the sheer audacity. Pain jolted me back into action, pain coming over the bond I shared with Sigmir. Reflexively, I reached out, trying to soothe her and for a moment, the connection between us sharpened, allowing me to know her thoughts. Just the idea that anyone was going to take me away was causing her pain, pain that was turning into anger, directed at the orc still standing in front of me, a smug grin on her face. Before Sigmir’s thoughts co...

Chapter 383

“Greetings, Elder Brightsun.” I replied, carefully keeping any show of emotion, whether fear or awe, due to her power out of my voice. Drawing a little on the power of Ice within my body helped a little, the cool sensation helping me keep my voice perfectly level, as if I was merely talking to the woman I had ordered breakfast from, just half an hour earlier.

“And Good Morning to you, Shaman Firebringer.” I greeted the other woman, who gave me a wide smile, somehow managing to s...

Chapter 382

“He was the source of those rumors?” Sakgu asked, once we had left the square and its crowd behind. As we had left, she had fallen in beside me, resuming her place as guide but not taken the lead.

“He just confirmed it, didn’t he? But, if you look objectively, it could only have been him.” I replied, before continuing on. “At the end of the day, there were only so many who knew what had happened, to start rumours. All, but one, of those who had been at the battlefield were i...

Chapter 381

Walking through the orc settlement once again reminded me that the technology-level on Mundus was, at least when looked at through a normal lense, all over the place. Where in history, technology had followed a logical path, with each new discovery dependent on those before on Mundus that wasn’t the case. Partially, it might just be due to developer-whimsy but from what I had seen, it was well embedded in the world and it’s rules.

Kolyug had been an excellent example of that, the bu...

Chapter 380

Waking up, I was in a strange mood. For once, I remembered my dreams, at least parts of them. And what I remembered was weird, there was no other word for it.

In one dream, I, in my normal, human body, had stood next to Sigmir, two butterfly-blades like the one I was training with in the gym in my hands, ready to do battle against a group of glowing figures. Those looked like they were made from a mix of fire and light, almost like the guardian I had fought in the Snowbold-Cave, shortly...

Chapter 379

“I never went back to Kuresu. For a few weeks, I simply roamed through the wilds, without a care where I was going. I have no idea how I managed to survive, as I was trying to die. To find something that would kill me, challenging everything I came across. More beast than orc. All I had was my grief. And my rage, I was angry at Thronar, for convincing me to go to the lost city, I was angry at Kwyla and Marj, for leaving our group, I was angry at the undead, for striking Thronar. But most of...

Chapter 378

For a moment, I was simply stunned. Just how was I supposed to deal with the crying orc in front of me. Part of me wanted to simply leave, returning to Sigmir and the others, but the idea didn’t sit right with me. It was so easy to empathise with her, just thinking about losing Sigmir was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Reaching out, I placed a hand on her shoulder, simply offering silent sympathies, without acting too intimate or familiar. She shrunk a little further at my touch, m...

Rewrite, Chapter 6

“You have chosen your path. But a Path decides only about the general direction your travel will take you. You also need to select a class, which will help you with the first steps of your journey, and many more besides. Think of it like a map, helping you to traverse your Path on the Road to Purgatory. Some maps will show you a single route, others allow you to meander, as you experience your surroundings. There are no right or wrong choices here, seek out something that you think speaks t...

Chapter 377

“The last time, you ask.” Dura Firebringer said again, her voice soft, wistful even. She fell silent for a moment, before letting out a long, drawn out sigh.

“It was different, but, in a way, the same.” she began, her voice distant.

“The last time I came home, not just from a short trip but from a journey that might have taken me to my Ancestors was two years ago and I returned alone. But I hadn’t started my journey alone, I was just the only one to return. And they ne...

Chapter 376

Flying into the cloud of magical energy made me a little apprehensive and if it had been my body, doing the flying, I would have increased the amount of frozen mist surrounding me, just to ward off the heat. Luckily, Lenore didn’t share my weakness to heat and was able to enter the cloud without any trouble.

The moment she did, we both realised that there was more going on than just the emanation of power, it almost hit me like a physical blow, despite being within my Hallow. I could ...

Chapter 375

After dinner, I decided that I wanted to escape the tense atmosphere, despite having some misgivings about leaving the others alone. The only reason I was willing to do so was that the orcs seemed to have focused their ire on me, reinforcing the idea that a Traveller, maybe Harms, had spread the rumour that Dura Firebringer had killed the people taken by the centaurs. Or rather, that I had done so on her orders, making me a murderer in their eyes but Gera had stressed that I was an honoured g...

Chapter 374

• AN: Happy New Year, everyone

“Erm…” Sari muttered, obviously stumped for how to proceed, after we had been dumped into her lap. “Let me show you the water-rooms, you can wash yourself there, or your clothes. During the summer, the cool water feels great.” she decided, even if the insecurity in her voice made it sound like a question.

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea. You have indoor plumbing, then?” I replied, the idea remind...

Chapter 373

“That went well.” the orc housekeeper muttered, while shaking her head, still frowning. The others remained silent and I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with things myself, instead I decided to take care of my face, which felt like I had some serious sunburns. Closing my eyes, I focused on the mist that still filled the room, using the connection I kept with my Astral Power to gather it up, letting it swirl around me. The cold mist felt like a balm on my face, especially when I added a li...

Rewrite, Chapter 5

The black faded away, allowing me to see the meadow I had started out on again. Now, without anything to occupy my mind with, the look on the Guard’s face returned and my hands started to shake. There was an intense rush within me, causing me to stumble to my knees, as the shaking of my hands started to spread, enveloping my whole body.

“Calm yourself, young one.” a voice I recognised as Alkmene told me, making me swallow, even as I remembered mental exercises to combat panic-atta...

Chapter 372

My opinion of the Bright Hollow-defenses was not improved when Dura Firebringer guided me through the gate. If looked at from an ordinary perspective the gate was sturdy, solid wood with a thick locking-bar visible on the insight, but if I considered if from the perspective of potential threats I had already seen on Mundus, I was not impressed, especially when I took a short glance through Lenore’s eyes, using her special sight to check for magic. Simply put, neither the gate nor the wall, ...

Holiday-Chapter

• AN: Happy Holidays, everyone. I wish everyone a good time, especially those who cannot be with their loved ones, due to the circumstances our world is in.

Greetings, dear seeker on your quest for truth.

I do not know where you found these pages, how it came to be in your possession. It might have been a gift from a honoured mentor, who doesn’t need it in their old age. It might have been given to you by a teacher, hoping to guide you down ...

A bit of Worldbuilding

• AN: Something a little different, I thought I give y'all a peak behind the curtain, so to speak. With the holidays and the world as it currently is, I decided to show you the first step an idle thought might take, before it ever becomes a story. In this case, the idle thought was about an old D&D-Character of mine, Half-Elf, Half-Dragon, Dragonblood Sorcerer, while reading a contemporary novel. The idea coalesced a little bubbled around in my mind and I decided to write down...
  2020-12-24 00:20:24 +0000 UTC View Post