PreCursive

Interlude 5 - A Patient Promise

The hunter waited patiently on a hill overlooking the town.

This must have been the fourth such small settlement that the hunter had investigated over its months-long search, but they were optimistic about this one. So many of the towns that they had observed and searched in their quest had been nothing more than they seemed, but this one was strangely fortified. The hunter had noted that this one possessed far more intricate wards than most small villages owned, indicating a great deal...

Chapter 52 - Coming to a Decision

“He wants to WHAT?!” Azarus shouted, accidentally slamming his hammer down onto his thumb in surprise. With a shouted curse, he hurled the hammer away from him into the corner of his forge before turning to face me.

I was leaning up against the doorway looking in, my arms crossed. I had woken up later than I usually did these days, and by the time I had everyone was already at work. Last night’s conversation with Grey had laid heavy on my mind, so I hadn’t felt very hungry and s...

Chapter 51 - Damned

Later that night, Grey and I were relaxing in his room. The sun was setting, and his room was lit by flickering candlelight by now, casting everything in dancing shadow. Azarus had called an early night, citing some business he had early in the morning. I don’t even know how it had happened, but Grey and I had migrated to his room where he had broken out a bottle of liquor. I didn’t typically drink much, but I wasn’t opposed to a bit of social drinking if the situation called for it. 2023-07-30 21:55:33 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 50 - Switch-Up

Time passed, and before I knew it, two weeks had gone by.

I was busy during that time. Every day was devoted to trying to train my usage of Aetherial Melding. If I wasn’t trying to refine my control, I was trying to understand the Profession deeper. Typically, if I wasn’t working with Grey on this, I was working with Azarus out back in the forge. If I wasn’t working with either of them, I was in town working with Bleddyn. After our first session, Bleddyn had insisted that I visit ...

Chapter 49 - Thunderheart Oath

Inside the back room was the same preparation room I’d seen weeks ago. It didn’t seem to have changed all that much. It was still tiled, with knives and tools scattered across the large wooden tables situated along the wall. It still had hooks hanging from the ceiling, and it still had a large metal door along the left side. I’d learned last time that it led to a large-scale version of the stasis cabinet from back home, to store the meat.

We didn’t have to wait for Bleddyn this ...

Chapter 48 - Ghrian Dorcha

“Interestin’.” Azarus said idly, cutting into the steak on his plate.

After we had gotten back from our lunchtime break, Grey and I worked on testing my new Profession for the rest of the day. In between breaks to let my mana recover, Grey had me identifying and breaking down alchemical ingredients and herbs all day. I hadn’t seen the point in repeatedly breaking down herbs when I’d already shown I could do it, and I’d said that to Grey. He had patiently explained to me that...

Chapter 47 - Testing

I awoke to the sound of rattling drawers and the muttering of Grey. I was laying in his bed again, in a mirror of my first day here. He must have moved me here after I had…passed out? Was that what had happened to me? Groggily, I raised my head to look around. I don’t think I had been out for very long, based on the light streaming through the window. Off to the side, I spied Grey hunched over his desk messing with something. I guess that was where the muttering was coming from.

I t...

Chapter 46 - Aetherial Melding

“And, well, my entire Profession pane has changed. Again.” I said to Grey.

It had. Again. For like the third time or something.

Where before it had been a series of seven concentric circles with an eight in the middle, those were all gone. None of the symbols for the seven Professions I had chosen were even there anymore. Now it was just the open palm in the center, larger than before and no longer bound by a circle. It was still radiating out a blue light, though. I guess tha...

Chapter 45 - Sculpted

“Until this point in time,” Grey said. “AutoVants, the Sculpted, were legally considered to be property. Naturally, they objected to this legal status. Even before the Second Initialization, there were individuals that protested before the House of Lords their status as being little better than slaves, even after they had gained full sapience. These appeals went nowhere, however. There were, and are, a great many nobles in the House that have created an enormous amount of wealth off of ...

Chapter 44 - Explanations

I took a longer bath than usual, taking the time to try and decompress. I must have just lay in the tub for nearly half an hour after cleaning myself, simply trying to clear my mind. I don’t know how successful I was at that, but at least I was thankful for the magic in the tub. I’d experienced it before, but the water was self-cleaning or something. Thank God I wasn’t just floating in a bunch of re-hydrated blood, sweat, and mud.

When I finished, I realized I hadn’t brought a c...

Chapter 43 - Gift of Aether

I wasn’t able to see the clearing fully from how far back I was, but the sight still gave me a rush of wild hope. Somehow dredging up more energy from my exhausted frame, I accelerated, putting on a burst of speed. The bear creature recovered from slamming face-first into a tree from its failed lunged behind me. It let out a roar as it reoriented and began chasing me again.

C’mon, c’mon. Only a little bit more. You can do this. You can do this! You can fucking do this, Nathan!

Chapter 42 - Class Selection

The tree might but holding up fine, but I wasn’t for how long. The repeated assaults of the bear-rabbit had started to splinter the base of the tree. Eventually, I think the monster was going to knock my tree over and then slaughter me like a pig. I couldn’t just stay up here forever.

Making sure to keep a firm hold on the trunk of the tree so the impacts didn’t knock me off, I glanced around. It didn’t help me much. There wasn’t anything up here but branches and other trees. ...

Chapter 41 - The Hunted

I slowly drifted back to consciousness, laying on my left side facing a tree.

Honestly, this was a surprise to me.

As I gradually became more aware of my surroundings, I tried to move. I immediately stopped due to the flair of pain. I couldn’t stop a small whimper from escaping my lips. Slowly, I tried to puzzle out where the pain was coming from by shifting around a little, still laying down. From what I could tell, my back didn’t feel great, but it wasn’t killing me as muc...

Interlude 4 - Malice

The silence in the clearing was oppressive.

After Nate and the other slaves had been forced into the forest, Magnus had ordered his guards to go fetch the usual things he needed for a ‘hunt’. Namely, his small mobile gazebo, complete with a chair and a side table. Anticipating what else he wanted, and afraid of his reaction if they hadn’t, the guards had also brought back one of the manor servants with refreshments as well. Only for Magnus, though.

Now Magnus was idly sippin...

Chapter 40 - Creeping Crimson

I tried to move through the thick brush quietly, as I made my way deeper into the forest. It was difficult though, as the forest was much thicker in this part. The trees were closer together, as were the bushes. That wasn’t even mentioning how much more hazardous the actual foliage was. Despite my fairly high-quality clothes, I had still gotten scratched up by all the thorns and burrs. It was like it had a mind of its own, deliberately seeking out any patch of bare skin it could find. I rea...

Chapter 39 - The Hunt Begins

I sprinted through the forest for perhaps five minutes before I started to slow down. Coming to a stop, I hunched over and put my hands on my knees in order to catch my breath. But I was fighting something else that was making me breathe hard, and that was my own panic. My breaths came in harsh gasps even though I had recovered from my mad dash through the underbrush of this damn monster-infested forest. Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

Get it together, dumbass. You didn’t have time to hav...

Chapter 38 - Stone Broken

Azarus’s whole body tensed. His arm thrown across my shoulders began to feel more like a steel bar. Whatever he was planning on, he didn’t get the chance to act on it.

The guards advanced on us with startling speed.

One of the guards lunged at us once in range, arm outstretched. At the same time, Azarus first yanked his arm from around my shoulder and shoved me behind him. Then, he met the lunge of the guard with one of his own. In one smooth, practiced motion, he set his stan...

Chapter 37 - Welcoming Ceremony

My breath hitched in my chest. Oh…fuck. What the hell was he doing here?

Lord Magnus of House Savoy was much as I remembered him to be. Dark of hair and beard, both were worn long and elaborately styled. Shorter than Azarus, he was dressed in fancy-looking green and gold robes, complete with a fucking mantle. Even from where I knelt in the wagon, I could see the malevolent glint in his pale, golden eyes.

Azarus took a deep breath before speaking. “I…appreciate it, cousin.”...

Chapter 36 - Family Politics

Azarus and I traveled in companionable silence for most of the first day. We didn’t even really stop in order to have lunch, we only stopped the cart when the sun went down. Once we did, I helped Azarus set up our campsite for the night. Thankfully, Azarus had remembered to buy some camping supplies while back in Rhoscara. I wanted to help him set up the tent he had bought, but I didn’t really know how to set up an old-fashioned tent. I was only familiar with modern ones from back home th...

Chapter 35 - Greenrise [Vol. 2 Start]

It had been nearly a week since Azarus and I had arrived in Rhoscara at this point, and we were leaving soon. The other day, Azarus had joined Elysael and I for dinner and told us that he had finished his business in the city. It was time to leave.

The morning of our departure from Rhoscara found me leaning up against a tree in the gardens, contemplating the horizon. I hadn’t slept well the night before, and so I’d given it up as a lost cause and came out here for some peace and qui...

Interlude 3 - Kragsdwarf [Vol. 1 End]

The fading twilight stretched across the city of Rhoscara, glittering among its crimson and gold spires. Beneath them, the work of the city began to die down, after another frenetic day of creation and trade. Carpenters and masons, bakers and chefs, most daytime workers began to close up shop and head for home. Gradually, they streamed from their workshops and their patisseries, leaving only the fading dust of a hard day’s work in their wake.

While the working public of Rhoscara close...

Chapter 34 - The Coral Room

For the next maybe quarter-hour, we ate our breakfasts in awkward silence. Well, awkward for me at least. In a casual setting like this, I didn’t know how to speak to Elysael. What kind of chit-chat did you have with literal royalty? I didn’t know. I was aware of how awkward I was, and I’m sure I was making a fool of myself somehow. Elysael didn’t indicate in any way that she noticed, though. She just ate her meal with a quiet poise, seemingly unbothered by the silence.

God, Aza...

Chapter 33 - Uncertainty

After the incident in the Prince's office, nobody seemed to be in the mood to talk anymore. Elysael told Azarus and me that we would finish the conversation later, before calling a servant to lead us to the rooms that had been prepared for us. Shortly thereafter, I found myself in a small, relatively opulent room that I suppose I was going to be spending most of my time in while I was in Rhoscara. Azarus had been led to the room to my right and bid me goodnight, but not before shooting me one...

Chapter 32 - Judged

“Well,” The Prince began delicately. “That wasn’t quite how I was expecting things to go.”

Once the Prince had ended court for the day, Azarus and I had followed her out of the throne room through a small, recessed doorway off to the side after I had collected my cloak. She had led us through a small corridor in silence before we’d emerged into another hallway. From there, she’d led us through the mostly empty halls to a stately room that must function as an office, based ...

Chapter 31 - Performance of a Lifetime

I didn’t pay much attention to the next couple of people that came to petition the Prince. I was more focused on the implications of Olgar’s petition, instead.

It sounded to me like the human kingdom was involved in some kind of war.

Moreover, it sounded like they were at war with themselves, in some fashion. Olgar had called it a ‘rebellion’ involving some group called the ‘Sculpted’. What the hell did that mean, anyway? What kind of name was ‘Sculpted’? What did ...

Chapter 30 - The Prince of Ravens

So, this was Olgar.

Not gonna lie, he was pretty intimidating.

Azarus hummed noncommittedly in response to his greeting. He turned his gaze away from Olgar for a moment in order to drag it along the crowd of perhaps fifteen other dwarves at Olgar’s back. Turning it back Olgar, Azarus spoke again. “Quite the welcoming party for little old me.”

Olgar spread his arms, palms out. “A coincidence, I assure you. I wouldn’t dream of impeding your business with the Prince.�...

Chapter 29 - Complications

Before long, Azarus and I had reached the top of the long winding stone stairway that led to the palace district proper. We made the trip in silence, as Azarus seemed anxious about something. Personally, I spent the time admiring the grounds that we were passing by. It really did seem like something I would see out of a magazine describing the lifestyle of the obscenely wealthy from back home. Huge plots of flowers, tastefully arranged on either side of us, with the occasional dwarven grounds...

Chapter 28 - Afternoon Stroll

I wasn’t watching this time as the wagon entered the city, but I could feel when we made the transition. The wagon went from rolling smoothly along the hard-packed dirt outside the gates, to trundling along atop cobblestones with a jolt. Shortly thereafter, we came to a stop again. The wagon must have reached the checkpoint that Azarus and I were going to get off at.

“Hey.” I heard Azarus say to me from above. “Time to go. Get our bags, will ye?”

Taking a deep breath to ...

Chapter 27 - The Good Captain

As our wagon slowly trundled its way toward the gates of Rhoscara, the spectacular view of the city slowly faded. It was replaced by the less dazzling view of the walls that surrounded the city. The walls themselves were still made of the red stone that seemed to be so common in this city, from what I could recall of the view from earlier. The stone wasn’t quite as polished or as beautiful, however. Even from a distance, I could see that they were meant to be utilitarian and formidable. The...

Chapter 26 - Breathtaking Beards

Azarus was right  for once when he said the trip to Rhoscara would take about four days.  The trip itself wasn’t that bad, however. I’d had certain expectations  for the journey, after my last in a wagon. When we were moving, Azarus,  Gren and I were either chatting idly or sitting in companionable  silence, listening to the creak of the wagon and the gait of the horses.  It’s not like I spent the entire trip hanging out in the back of the  wagon, eith...