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[BorkMork]

Damn, that was pretty good, my dude. I can't wait for more! But when's the wedding? :^)

 

[Xovious]

Damn, that was pretty good, my dude. I can't wait for more! But when's the wedding? :^)

It's always weddings with you ffs

 

[Wizardteepot]

[Quick A/N: Because this chapter is apparently so long, it had to be broken up over two forum posts...Sorry! Enjoy! Questions, comments, and concerns are always appreciated!]
Chapter 6: The Head Alchemist​

Tee and Commander Andy were walking just South of the Spire. They were laughing jovially, as Andy recounted one of his stories from his time in the military in his old world. According to him, he had gotten the title “Commander” because he led a half troop, a group of fifty untrained soldiers, behind enemy lines and caught them literally with their pants down, as they were all undressing for the night. As the sun was setting behind the massive building of the Historian’s Guild, Andy and Tee heard the fast thumping of someone running at them. Turning around and seeing a short, stocky man trying to catch their breath, the two friends jumped back in surprise.

“I need to deliver a message to High Queen Jedoi Talongon. Where might I find her?”

Tee looked towards Jedoi’s house, as it rested on the hill next to the Historian’s Guild, overlooking the nearby hill. He noticed, once again, not a sound could be heard inside. Odd, he thought. She must not be home.

“I don’t believe she’s in town. Can I take a message for her for when she returns?”

“I don’t have enough time!” the man shouted. “This is urgent business from High King Xovious in Draekonfell!”

Andy and Tee stepped back in surprise. “Draekonfell?” Andy asked. “What could be so important that Xovious himself is in need of Jedoi’s attention?”

“It doesn’t matter!” the man shouted again. He huffed and asked his next question with vigor: “Which one of you has a higher position in town?”

Andy turned to Tee. “Technically it’s you. You became a Knight, just last week.”

Tee nodded. “I suppose I am.”

The man handed the letter off to Tee. “Then I suppose this goes to you.”

Tee was handed a crisp, white parchment, sealed with the official Red Wax seal of Draekonfell: a small dragon breathing fire as it blazed in a circle around the dragon’s head. He opened up the letter and found the neat and looping handwriting of his Ex-High King.


Dear Jedoi,

With Eldritch knocking at our doors, we’re running out of supplies to sustain ourselves in fights. Until we can get a proper infrastructure set-up, we’d like to request a large shipment of potions from Auru. Nollo has informed me that she left a large amount of potions contained in both the Alchemy Guild, and the storage rooms of the Spire. The sooner we can get the shipment, the better.

Sincerely,

High King Xovious.


Andy looked over Tee’s shoulder and quickly read the letter. “That’s problematic, what are we going to do about that?”

“Hopefully get them what they need! Like I said, High King Xovious said it was urgent! However, my job is completed. Please complete the task my master requests.” With that, the man walked away.

“So? What are we going to do, Knight Tee Alduin?” Andy said mockingly and curiously.

“Get them their potions, I suppose. Come on!”

Tee ran off North, Andy at his tail. They grabbed some crates from the warehouse, and jumped into the Spire. Running up three flights of stairs, they found themselves at the floor that held the beacon that they used to teleport to Conquest fights. Scattered about were chests filled with various materials for the fights: weaponry, armor, arrows, food, you name it, and it was probably there. Tee opened a chest nearest to him and saw the glistening sparkle of light reflecting off glass. Picking up a glass bottle, he swirled around the dark liquid that sat within the small reservoir, and observed how it blocked out the light coming in from the massive stained glass window opposite of him. Andy gave a low whistle and caught Tee off guard. Turning around, Tee saw Andy precariously juggling five or six bottles in the air, filled with different colored liquids.

“Andy!”

Andy noticed he had been caught in his act, and the glass bottles dropped to the ground, shattering around him. The liquid sprayed all over his feet and legs, and slowly he started lifting up into the air.

“Wh-whoa!” Andy shouted, his voice cracking from fear. “Tee, give me a hand, will you?”

“Nope. You got yourself into this mess, get yourself out,” Tee said as he continued to rummage through more chests.

“This isn’t funny, Tee!” Andy said as he continued floating into the air.

With his back still turned to Andy, Tee exclaimed, “actually, I find it quite hysterical. It’ll teach you better than to drop things like that!”

“Tee! Please, I’m sorry! Please, can you fix this?!”

Tee turned around laughing. He noticed Andy was a good ten or fifteen feet off the ground at this point, and still rising. He pulled out a small enderpearl from a pouch that hung at his side. He tossed it up to Andy. “Throw it to the ground. You’ll be teleported, and then we’ll anchor you until the potion effects wear off.”

Andy gulped, and nodded. He threw the enderpearl to the ground, where it shattered and Andy appeared just moments later. Tee gripped Andy’s shoulders and pushed down, so that his feet remained on the floor. Seconds passed, and finally Andy’s legs stopped attempting to separate themselves from the solid ground.

“Better?” Tee asked, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

“Better,” Andy said, a bewildered look shining in his eyes.

Tee let out another chuckle, and patted his companion on the back. Carefully arranging some of the potions into the crates, Tee sighed disappointedly at how many potions the two had actually recovered.

“There should be more, right?”

Tee pulled back out the letter and read through it again. “Aye, according to Xovious, Nollo stashed a lot more of them inside the Alchemy Guild.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Andy said as he packed away the last of the potions. He picked up three crates and dangerously started walking down the stairs.

“Whoa there!” Tee shouted. Andy, giving him a puzzled looked, stopped in his tracks as the boxes began to wobble in his hands. Tee took two of the crates out of the Commander’s hands and set them back on the floor. “Let’s take it a box at a time, alright? I understand how urgent this is, but we don’t need you dropping a box of potions.”

“Why? What’s the worst that could happen?” Andy scoffed.

“You dropped five random potions and started floating in the air. Do you really want to try dropping a crate full of fifty potions?”

Andy gulped, realizing Tee was right. He, carefully, gripped a solitude crate and made his way back down the stairs. After transferring all the boxes to the first floor of the Spire, Andy and Tee made their way North towards the Alchemy Guild. Often referred to as the Apothecary, the monstrous building was nearly the same size as the Historian’s Guild. It had two major floors, and Tee heard rumors that there was a giant basement as well. Neither of the two had ever been in the guild before, and it seemed Andy wanted to keep it that way. Tee was excited to go in: the thought of getting into alchemy...well, that was another touch of magic to add to his repertoire. He’d tried his hand at it with his mentor a few years back, but he was still relatively new to the craft.

They got to the door and, with a sharp twist, discovered it was locked.

“Well that sucks,” Andy commented.

“Aye, the only ones with keys, that I know of, are Jed and Nollo...but Jed’s out of town and Nollo’s in Draekonfell.”

Tee pulled out the letter once again, searching if there was some form of clue to a key.

Of course there won’t be one, you idiot! Tee thought. This letter is addressed to Jed, who already has a key! Why would she need a hint for another one if she already had one?

Tee looked up in distress. He noticed the windows that led to the second floor, but all of them were closed, most likely locked as well.

Tee, pointing to them, suggested climbing to the second floor and breaking in. If it was so urgent of business to Xovious, Jedoi wouldn’t mind some breaking and entering, right?

Andy shook his head. “I’ve got a better idea.” With that, he pulled out an iron pickaxe, struck once on the door handle, and split the small object into three. The chunks of brass fell to the ground, leaving a satisfying ringing sound. With a simple push, he pointed inside. “Welcome to the Auru Alchemy Guild,” he said with a smirk.

Tee sighed and shook his head, but stepped inside anyways. The two adventurers found themselves inside of a small foyer room: undecorated save for the many doors decorating the North wall, it was uninteresting. Then again, the two assumed, the real magic didn’t happen here anyways, did it? As they were walking past, they heard the snore of a sleeping dog nearby. Turning to see that it had curled up in the corner, they silently cursed: they were technically still intruders here and, if the dog woke up, it’d start barking and alert everyone nearby.

Tee turned to Andy as quietly as possible. “Let’s just grab the stuff and leave as quickly as possible.”

With a quick nod, Andy motioned for Tee to lead the way. Tee opened a door, surprised to see it wasn’t locked, and found himself in a massive room on the other side. On the Northern most wall were titration stations and huge, cast iron cauldrons. Tee peered into one of the cauldrons, seeing a dark, purple liquid swirl inside as it boiled. He felt invigorated as he, inevitably sucked in the potion’s fumes. Nollo had left Auru weeks ago, Tee thought. So who was still brewing the potions?

Andy let out a little whistle, and Tee turned around. There were several chests precariously stacked on top of each other, each holding several hundred glass bottles with various liquids inside of them. “What do you say, Tee? Should we drink one?”

“Absolutely not.” With that, Tee snatched a glass bottle out of Andy’s hand and returned it to it’s chest.

“Please? Just one?”

“No.” Tee heard the pop of a cork and the sudden sipping of a mysterious liquid. “You drank one anyways, didn’t you?”

He turned around but saw that no one stood in the room with him.

“Andy?” he called out.

“Tee!”

A ghostly figure poked Tee in the stomach and he whipped around confused. He gripped his Sunstone Staff tightly as he searched for his target.

“Andy...are you invisible?”

“It would seem I am!” Although Tee couldn’t physically see his commander friend, he could feel the smirk that radiated off of his face.

Tee sighed, shaking his head as he realized he wouldn’t win. He gathered some potions from the chests and placed them in a crate, as he was occasionally poked in the side by the ghost of Andy. Tee gave some warnings as he shot out bits of flame around him, but noticed he might leave burn marks on the floor, and the pokes persisted regardless.

Sighing, Tee took a small dagger that was hooked to an inside pocket of his robe. Sensing where Andy was by the shift in wind, Tee threw the blade in what would hopefully be a non-lethal spot. Tee would later learn that the blade had sunk deep into Andy’s left hand.

“Ow!” his commander friend yelped in surprised. “What was that for!?”

Tee turned to the floating blade with a wicked grin. “Now I know where you are!”

He heard the disappointed sigh of Andy as he realized the dagger could easily identify him, making his invisible tricks useless, and Tee returned to his work of packing potions away.

When he was satisfied with what he had, he commanded Andy to help him collect all the crates, and place them onto the ship bound for Aladra, where Xovious and Falksi would meet them with open arms. As they placed the last crates on the ship, Tee heard the sharp exhale of their fearless leader behind them: realizing they had been caught red handed of what might look like stealing and town betrayal, Tee froze up.

“What are you doing, Tee?”

Tee cursed under his breath, and Andy turned around, still invisible, trying to make his way out of this situation. Tee grabbed Andy by what he thought was his ear and held on tight, making sure that he’d have someone to back him up on this. With that, the potion’s effects wore out, and Andy was standing before Tee and Jedoi, clearly nervous. He gulped, “hi Jed.”

“Hello you two.” She tapped her foot impatiently. “Want to explain what you’ve got there?”

Tee handed Jedoi the letter from Xovious. “He wants potions and, if it’s alright with you, we want to supply them. Unfortunately you weren’t around for us to ask, but we were told it was urgent…”

Jed’s shoulders slumped as she realized her apprentice and his friend were doing the right thing. She beamed in delight at their self confidence and autonomy. Then she frowned again, realizing that the implications behind Draekonfell needing even more materials could only mean…

Tee stepped forward. “I promise I’ll brew and replace all the potions. I’ve already taken an inventory of what we’re giving away, and I promise to double it.”

Jed nodded and threw her spare key to Tee. “Right, you’ll probably need that.”

Tee caught the key with ease and nervously chuckled. “Yeah...right…” He turned to Andy. “You’re helping me with this.”

“Yes sir,” Andy reluctantly said as they slunked off towards the Alchemy Guild. Jed shook her head and laughed, waving her hand at the ship’s captain to continue on his way. If Draekonfell truly needed the potions, it’d be best if they had it before the day’s end.


***


Tee stepped back into the Alchemy Guild, carefully stepping over the shards of broken brass. He looked disappointedly back and forth between the shattered door handle and the useless door knob. “Perhaps we can get Iyo to help fix it.”

Tee hadn’t met Iyo personally yet, but he’d heard a lot about the mysterious man: the owner of Sickholme, bearer of the Shadknife, and Co-owner of the elusive Thieves Guild, Tee had a lot to learn about and from a man he was in such awe of. He also knew that Iyo had helped design and build many of the buildings around town. Shaking his head, he replied to Andy, “the mate’s an Architect, not a locksmith.”

“Then perhaps Trev?”

Again, Trevster was a legend around the town. His work with science and the mysterious dust known as redstone significantly improved the day to day activities around town. Tee heard stories of the dark ages of Auru, brought back to life by the automatization of the Spire, all done by Trevster and some faithful engineers.

“I doubt it.”

‘Then what about Ben?”

Benged was known as the funniest guy among the Aurulians, but also one of the most serious. He shares the Thieves Guild with Iyo, but with Iyo taking so much time to partake in building projects, Ben took care of the day to day operations of the secretive guild. Tee knew that Andy wanted to get into the guild, but neither of them knew how, and there was the requirement of him needing to be a Knight first. Oh well, Tee thought as he approvingly looked at his companion. He might have his quirks, but he has the same amount of potential I do, at least, Jed thinks so.

“Perhaps. That is, if he’s not busy fishing.”

Tee went deeper into the compound, noticing a set of trapdoors set into the floor that lead beneath the potion storage room. Throwing open the doors below and walking down a flight of steps, Tee saw chests filled with containers of various materials. He noticed that each one gave off a different aura to it, but was nonetheless useless in it’s current state. Shaking his head he searched around further, finding an old book with yellowing pages.


Alchemy Instructions

By: Ajaxan


Tee had caught very small snippets about Ajaxan from people around town: he was one of the original leaders of the town Tee called home, but had disappeared one day without a trace. He’d come back some time later with Grubul, but vanished into thin air once again. He opened the book and saw the neatly organized recipes of each of the potions that the Alchemists had brewed. Tee noticed how dusty the book was, probably because the oldest Alchemists could recite the recipes from heart and took the book out of commission. But for a newbie like him...he took the book and put it in a small pouch by his side.

Going back over to the ingredients, he noticed a distinct lack of Blaze Rods and Nether Wart. Nether Wart was used for every potion: it gave the drink its magical properties, after all. Blaze Rods were required for their precious powder, required to boil every potion, but also a key ingredient when boosting physical performance. Tee shook his head. He’d have to go to the Nether to collect this stuff, unless…

“Andy!”

“What?” he heard the commander scream from the floor above him. He heard a loud thud and a squeal of pain as Andy hit his head on the low hanging ceiling that accommodated the basement room.

Tee laughed and shook his head. “I need you to go into the Nether. We need some Nether Wart and Blaze Rods. You think you can do that?”

Andy pulled out a steel blade and iron pick. Twirling them around he nodded to his wizard friend. He’d helped getting the two of them into this mess, he’d help Tee get them out. Andy turned on his heels and walked out the door towards the boat to Aladra, hoping to catch it before it left.

Tee resumed his work, gathering materials, checking recipes in the book, and making a mental note of how much he’d have to brew to replace it all, and double it like he promised Jed. He stood over one of the large cauldrons, with an array of titrators by his side. Opening the book once more and cracking his knuckles, he muttered, “let’s do this.”


***


Andy stepped aboard the ship to Aladra, wading through the various piles of boxes filled with potions, set for Draekonfell. He saw a cloaked figure step on with him and grab him by the shoulder. Andy could tell it was Benged, the town’s fisherman, but never had the ability to meet him. “Where to?” Ben asked the unassuming commander.

“The Nether. I have to get some materials for Tee for brewing.”

Benged nodded approvingly. “Let me come with you.”

Andy nodded. No reason not to let the man come with him, especially if he wanted to enter Ben’s guild soon…

The boat took off, racing across the Shivering Seas. The salty spray chilled Andy to his bone; now he knew why it was called the Shivering Seas, one dip in and you’ll be Shivering for days. The air got gradually warmer as they neared Aladra, and before they knew it, Andy and Ben got off at the port of the small fishing village settled between the three continents.

They rushed across the small sanctuary, passing new residents as they appeared for the first time on the fifth world, awaking from their slumber, each with their own unique story to tell. Ben and Andy briefly greeted them, but ran off towards the Harbinger of Flame. Passing a quick salutations to Zevran, the undead boatkeeper, they jumped aboard and appeared in Hell shortly after.

Andy was amazed. He had been in the Nether a few times for his own adventures, but it surprised him every single time: the heat, the monsters, the general vibe he got from the place; it all made him very uneasy. He gripped his blade a bit tighter, and obediently followed Ben into the Rejuvenating Isle of Flame.

Ben pointed out some of the Blazes, monsters made of fire and seemed to break the laws of physics as they floated upwards. Ben tried explaining how it was the current of heat that kept them afloat, but Andy was too concerned with dodging their fiery discharges to listen. Ben laughed as Andy’s hair caught on fire, and he desperately attempted to put it out.

Ben ran up to the Blaze and struck it down, grabbing one of the fiery rods that floated around it as it died. He turned to the commander with a smirk: “one down, ninety-nine to go.” Andy gave a sigh of disapproval, but made his way deeper into the rejuvenating isle.

Cresting a hill, he noticed a strange, red blemish growing out of the ground. Getting closer, Andy cupped one in his hand, instantly growing nauseous from the smell. These must be the Nether Wart, Andy thought. Why does Tee want this stuff again?

He shook his head, not questioning the Wizard’s motives. He dug his iron spade into the ground, having his mind shatter as he ripped into the delicate Soul sand that lay beneath. Ben gripped his shoulder tightly and urged him to go on. Andy nodded, bravely twirling his spade once more, and shoving it deeply into the ground, uprooting the blood red plants.

“Good,” Ben said as he patted the commander on the back. “That’s three Nether Wart down, only several hundred to go.”

Andy sighed, but knew Ben was right. He swung the spade over his shoulder, and obediently followed the Master of the Skies once more.


***


Tee stood above a titrator and cauldron, carefully parsing through Ajax’s notes. “One Nether Wart, a half of a blaze rod, a pinch of glowstone, a pinch of gunpowder, and 250mL of distilled water.” Tee looked around disappointedly for the last item. “Auru lake water should do just fine, right? What could possibly go wrong?” Nothing changed because of the change in water, Tee would later learn, but it made the potion taste god awful when drunk.

Tee heard the squeak of a door behind him. He turned around quickly, throwing a potion of poison at the intruder. A confused Jedoi caught the potion with ease and looked at him.

“Oh shit.”

Jed laughed. “Sorry I snuck up on you.”

“Jed, I’m so sorry.”

She laughed and waved off the comment, gently setting the potion back on a table top near Tee’s working station. She noticed the cauldron of purple liquid bubbling just beside her apprentice. “May I?”

Tee looked at the cauldron, using a cast iron ladle to scoop out a small amount of the liquid into a glass bottle he had by his side. Handing it off to Jed, he commented, “be my guest, but be careful: it’s hot.”

She shook her head, but didn’t take heed to the Wizard’s warning. With one quick gulp, she drank the potion and glanced at the young Wizard. She coughed and looked at the bottle. “Ugh, this stuff is disgusting, Tee.”

Tee scratched his head. “Yeah, I’m still working on that...but does it work?”

“Let’s check.” With that she punched Tee in the arm, sending him flying into the brick wall of the Apothecary’s Institute. When he came back to consciousness, Jedoi was rubbing her hand and caringly looking at her apprentice. “You alright?”

Tee rubbed his head and looked at the small crack that formed in the stone bricks on the wall. “Ow!”

Jed laughed. “Well, at least it works.” She smirked.

Tee glared at his mentor, but knew she was right. He shook his head, but got back to work. She nodded approvingly to his diligence, and let him return to his brewing. As she stepped outside of the guild, she saw the Thieflord and the Commander step off the Aurulian boat. Andy politely stepped past her, and continued on his way to the Alchemy Guild, several pouches in hand. “So,” she said turning back to her faithful explorer. “How is he?”

“Hmm, shows promise, to be honest. I’d like to cultivate him for the Thieve’s guild eventually, but I think we both know the guild best for him.”

“Mining?”

“Mining.”

Jed nodded. She’d break the news to Andy later. “What about the young Wizard?”

“What about him?”

“Do you think he’d be suited well in that position?”

Ben thought about it for a second. “Perhaps. I’d love to have another guild leader around these parts. He shows interest in Alchemy, so I think he’d definitely be determined to fulfill his duties.”

“I’m glad you think so. Then I shall be off. I need to get some things sorted for tonight.”

Ben nodded. “I wish you the best. Cryptspeed, Jedoi Talongon.”

She hopped onto the boat headed back for Aladra. She could tell the captain was tired, already having made four trips that day, but she requested, after grabbing some gold and iron, that he made two more trips. He tiredly smiled, how could he turn down his High Queen? She stepped aboard, and they were off.

Jedoi appeared in the small fishing village just before the sun set. She made her way over to the small Blacksmithery and began a normal conversation with the burly man that stood before her, Lenrith. “What can I do for you, Guardian Jedoi?”

Jedoi made a mental note of how odd it was to have so many titles around the world. Oh well, she thought. What’s a few more?

She handed over the metals to the man. “I need you to make me a few tools.”

He eyed the metals cautiously. “These are well refined. May I ask where you got them from?”

She waved the question off. By the darkness of the sky, it looked like she didn’t have much more time to do this. “Is there any way you can make me a pickaxe and a mortar-and-pestle?”

“Sure, but they won’t be the most functio-”

Once again, Jed waved him off. “They’re more for formalities than functionality.”

Lenrith nodded, a large grin growing across his face. It’d be a while since he’d been asked to just make a piece for some showmanship than functionality. He cracked his knuckles. “Right, I’ll see what I can do.”

He ran into the back of his small shop, and Jed heard the rapid pounding of a hammer hitting an anvil, while the hot metal was coated and treated with tar and oil. The loud commotion drew the attention of some Lokans, but none too many.

Lenrith ran back out to his storefront and handed Jed the finished pieces, a small pickaxe and a sizable mortar-and-pestle. Jed smiled as she received them, trying to hand the Blacksmith a few gold pieces for his work. He raised a hand, refusing them. Jed looked at him, confused. “It’s been awhile since I worked on a piece for fun. Thank you for that opportunity,”

Jed smiled, curtsying for his generosity, and ran off, back to the Aurulian streamliner. With a quick whistle to the captain, they were back off into the icy currents, Kalros bound.

Jedoi stepped aboard the Aurulian docks as her time piece chimed 9pm. She looked at the small work of machinery, smiling at Trev’s creation. She found Benged and Iyoforeayo. Both stood in the shadow of the Spire, waiting for further instructions. She nodded at them. “It’s time.”


***


Benged stepped inside Andy’s small abode. Knocking on the door, the commander perked up at the sound. “Looks like someone has a good ear.”

Andy nodded. “Hello there Ben. Welcome to my house, I guess. Make yourself at home.”

“Actually, I need you on top of the Spire.”

“Oh no.”

 

[Wizardteepot]

[A/N: Here's Part two of Chapter 6! Enjoy! Questions, comments, and concerns are always appreciated!]​

***


Iyoforeayo stepped inside the Alchemy Guild, He saw a figure hunched over a book, cast-iron cauldron, and a titrator. He knocked on the door, and saw the figure go for a green vial by his side.

“Whoa! I come in peace!”

“Who are you?”

Iyo smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yeah,” the Wizard spat. “That’s why I asked.”

Iyo was stunned by his response, not having expected such a snarky comment to be shot back at him. He shrugged and just laughed it off. He was intruding on the Wizard’s Grounds; Iyo might possibly do the same thing if Tee did that to him in the elusive Thieve’s Guild headquarters.

“Well, Tee Alduin, I try to stay hidden around town.”

Tee’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Obviously he didn’t try to keep his name a secret, but whoever stood before him was clearly a man of power: someone who had invested even the slightest bit of time into learning about him. Him. Him of all people? Now why waste your time doing something silly like that?

As if reading his mind, the man before him responded, “as a Thieflord, I like to keep up on the day-to-day of all the Aurulians.”

“Thieflord? Wait...that means.” Tee gasped and fell to the floor. “I’m sorry your majesty. Forgive me for my incompetence.”

“‘Your majesty’? What’s that about?”

“Well, you’re Iyoforeayo, King of Sickholme, bearer of the Shadknife, aye?”

The knife pulsated as it hung lazily from Iyo’s side. It had been acknowledged, and that was all it needed to keep Iyo awake for weeks on end as it flooded his thoughts with thoughts not his own. “It appears my reputation precedes me. Now, get off the floor and cut the crap with the formalities.”

He held out a gloved hand. “The name’s Iyo, nice to meet ya.”

“Likewise, sir. Tee Alduin.”

Iyo sighed in disbelief, the young Wizard having too much respect for him. I guess I just have to deal with being a legend around these parts, he happily thought.

“Anyways. Your presence is requested at the top of the Spire.”

“Look, if this is about the lock, I’ll try and fix it after I finish restocking all these potions.”

“Nah, it’s not about that. Although, I saw the poor lock on the way in. Perhaps I can fix it later.”

“What, really?”

“They don’t just call me the Master Architect for nothing. Now come on kid, you need to get up there soon.”

Before stepping out of the guild, Iyo heard Tee whisper something under his breath that remotely sounded like, “thank you, Iyo.”

A smile spread across Iyo’s face. Sometimes it was good to have the ears of a thief.


***


Tee arrived on the rooftop of the Spire, feeling the harsh winds push him precariously to the side. He saw Andy nervously standing beside Ben, and Iyo waiting to receive him as well. Moonlight washed over the entire rooftop and bathed Jedoi in it’s holy, silver light.

Tee tried reading Jedoi’s face, but it was somewhere between welcoming, and stern. Tee tried to blurt out something to amend his actions today, but a hand from his mentor stopped any further statements.

“I’ve called you both here today to address the concerns tied to both the breaking and entering of unauthorized areas, and the stealing of several hundred potions.”

Tee gulped, noticing the commander had also tensed up. Although he couldn’t read the look on either Ben’s or Iyo’s faces, good traits for the two Thieflords, they were still surprisingly lax in their stance. One wrong move, however, and they could probably push Tee and his friend to their death several hundred feet below.

Tee made eye contact with his friend, giving him a silent promise. “I’ll get you out of here alive, even if it’s that last thing I do.”

Andy seemed to nod in his understanding, almost promising the same.

“In the face of adversity, you two showed autonomy and took actions into your own hands, and for that, I think that makes you eligible for future roles as Lords and maybe Kings.”

For the second time that day, Tee’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Here he had done something strongly against the rules, and yet he wasn’t being reprimanded, but praised for his actions and quick thinking.

“For future reference, however, if something concerns our allies in Asmund or over in Draekonfell, do not think twice about helping them: I’d much rather have to restock on materials later, than have gotten much needed materials to our allies too late.

“Furthermore, Andy, please step forward.”

Andy, giving Tee a frightened side glance, obediently did as he was told.

“Under the supervision of Ben, you showed great skill in being able to collect materials in a timely and orderly fashion. For that, we’re instating you as a member of the Miner’s Guild.”

A wider smile could not have been produced across the commander’s face.

“Also, because you left a chip in your pickaxe when you broke the lock on the Alchemy Guild’s door, you’ll probably need this.” Jed handed Andy a small pickaxe, with a shining pickaxe head, cascaded in silvery light from the paleness of the moon.

“You’ll report to the guild tomorrow, and meet your mentor there.”

Ben turned to her. “Jed, Bambi left for Draekonfell...there’s not a soul remaining in the mining guild right now.”

Jed scratched her head. “Yeah, it appears you’re right. Andy, please kneel before me.”

Andy, not sure what was happening, carefully knelt before the Queen of Auru. Tee started exploding with all kinds of emotions: if he was correct, Auru law required all guild leaders to be knights or above. That meant...Andy was about to become a knight!

“I, Jedoi Talongon, dub thee, Commander Andy, a knight of Auru. With this pickaxe, I also dub thee the owner of the Miner’s guild. You are to report to the guild tomorrow morning, take inventory, and make amends to what is missing.”

Andy hastily stood, too choked up with emotions to respond properly. Instead, he graciously accepted the small pickaxe, bowed his head, and stepped back into line.

“Tee Alduin, please step forward.”

Tee nervously took a step forward, glancing sidelong at his friend. Realistically, all the blame for the situation should fall onto him, because he was the higher up of the two (at least, at the time he was). So when was his punishment going to come crashing down?

“You showed great determination to right your wrongs after what happened today, and for that, I cannot thank you enough. It has been a rare occurrence that I’ve seen anyone around here step up and admit they’re wrong.” She put emphasis on that statement, glaring at Iyo and Ben, who seemed to get a strange curiosity in their shoes, all of the sudden. Returning to Tee, she continued, “you also showed a great amount of skill in your efforts at Alchemy today. We want to groom you for the Alchemist’s Guild, and I know how much you’d love to get your hands on some more magic around here.”

Tee sighed greatly. Yes, he’d love to join the Alchemy Guild. He still had a lot to learn, but the welcome weight of Ajaxan’s Book at his side reminded him that he wouldn’t have to go through the learning process alone, or so he thought.

“Unfortunately,” Jedoi started as she handed Tee an elegant mortar-and-pestle set. “Nollo left for Draekonfell.”

“And?” Tee questioned warily.

“And...she would’ve been your mentor.”

“Wait, so you mean…?”

“Yes.” Jed sighed. “Congratulations, Tee Alduin. You’re your own mentor. Andy, Ben, Iyo...I’d like you to meet the new Head Alchemist.”

 

[gabrosen]

Tee turns to Jedoi with and unhappy face ( ) "I'm sorry to say, but I'm no longer in love with you. I have fallen in love with someone else." Tee glances at gabrosen down the narrow Library hallway. "Him, he is my true love!" Jedoi fills with anger. "I want my revenge!" She says. "gabrosen is Chucktoast now!" TO BE CONTINUED...

Dayum, this is in-tents!

 

[Adara_]

"Cows smell like cows also, hail the one true God stairswolf"​

Not really sure that's intense gab

 

[Jedoi]

-_-

 

[Wizardteepot]

Chapter 7: The Meeting of Asmund​

It had been several months since Tee had accepted the position as Head Alchemist. Looking at the book that was set on the table before him, he shut it with glee; he knew this recipe by heart. He threw some netherwart into the nearby cauldron, mixing in copious amounts of the fiery slime, known as magma cream, and a pinch of the elusive redstone. With a loud pop, the boiling liquid turned a bright orange. With glee, Tee scooped out the concoction and corked it into a glass bottle.

At that moment, Benged walked into the alchemy room. Questioning what the wizard was looking at, Tee beckoned the Master of the Skies over. He threw the bottle at the floor, shattering the glass and splashing the liquid over both of them. Tee then pointed his Sunstone Staff at Benged, who flinched, but felt no pain. The magic spilled out around him, despite Tee’s determination to singe his clothes off. Holding out a hand, the stream of fire melded to fit around Ben’s hand, never daring to come a few inches from his skin. Ben jovially laughed, the wizard had actually done it. A potion of Fire Resistance.

“For just four months at practicing this stuff, you’re getting pretty good!”

Tee smiled in delight, but nearly fainted as his flame was put out. Ben caught him by the shoulder’s and helped him stand upright. As Tee came back to his senses, he heard the commotion and clammering of steel just outside his door. He gave a look to Ben. “What’s that about,” he said as he pushed past.

Staring out of a nearby window, he saw several flags of Asmundian towns wave past. He noticed the flags of Arvik, Kaldrsvell, Prithia, Whitevale, Vantis, Looterville, Arithmos, Calatravia, Silverhand, House Iron, and...Draekonfell. Tee gulped, he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to face Xovious today after everything that happened with his departure from Auru. In his fear, Tee saw several flags pass that he didn’t know the origins of. Pointing them out to Ben, he voiced his concerns.

“Who are these people?”

“Well,” Ben started as he neared the same window. “Most of them are from Asmund, like us. Others, the flags you probably don’t recognize, are from small villages splattered across the three continents. They either want protection from The Covenant or are looking to be seen as independent nations.”

“Is it safe to have this many people inside the walls?”

“Probably not, but Jed thinks it’s an okay idea, so who am I to question our High King?”

Tee turned to look at Ben, but couldn’t read the face that was hidden in the shadows of his cowl. “Besides,” Ben continued, “Iyo and I have eyes and ears everywhere. This city is more protected than you’d believe.”

Tee nodded. “Right, of course it is.” He believed Ben, but he still felt some uneasiness gnawing at his core.

“Even still, the farmers and innkeepers are happy. They’re making plenty of Shards because of this meeting.”

“Meeting?” Tee turned once more to Ben. “What meeting?”

“That’s for you to find out. Follow me.”

Tee obediently followed the Lord of Auru out of the Alchemy Guild. “Wait, Ben, stop! What do you mean? What meeting?”

Ben turned around and slapped the wizard. “Not too loud, alright?” He turned to a nearby group of people and flicked his nose. The people gave a curt nod, and fled off into an alleyway.

The wizard gave the thief a sobering glance. “What was that all about?”

The thief gave a wicked grin in return. “Aurulian eyes and ears.”

There was a small flash of light that caught Tee’s attention.

“Good eye.”

Tee shot a glance at Ben. “What do you mean?”

“A normal Aurulian wouldn’t be able to catch that signal.”

“And that signal…?”

“It means he’s here.”

“He? Who’s ‘he’?”

“Nokia.” With that, Ben ran towards the North gate, racing to greet the King of the Asmundian Alliance, Tee following closely on his heels.

Ben happily greeted the towering man, dressed in his Kalrosian leathers, his iconic sword, Ashrune, hanging at his side. Tee nervously glanced at the man who seemed to drink him in, scrutinizing every inch of him.

“Welcome to Auru, Nokia.”

Nokia brushed the comment aside and pushed past the Lord and Knight of Auru. “Where’s Ms. Talongon?”

Tee pointed to the giant tower in the center of the massive town. “If I had to take my guess, I’d say she was in The Spire.”

Nokia nodded. “Right.” With that, he stormed off.

Ben stared on in awe. “So…” Tee started. “That was Nokia?”

“Aye, that was Nokia.”

“Seems intimidating.”

“Very. But he’s what’s, arguably, holding this alliance together.”

Tee glared at Ben for crossing his High King.

“What? Oh. I didn’t mean-”

Tee shook his head and walked off. Sure, Jedoi was not the best in a fight, but neither was he. She was still his High King and, despite everything, he would die for her, Artifact or not.

Ben caught up with the wizard, but ultimately said nothing. They waltzed into The Spire, seeing the copious amounts of town leaders that piled into the tower’s lobby. Ben walked into the center of the room and, looking at Tee, tapped a stone in the central support mast. Instantly, Ben dropped through the floor as a trapdoor opened up beneath him. As Tee tried to track his progress, the trapdoor shut on him, blocking his view of the thief. Tee, nervously, tapped the stone, just as he had seen Ben do. He felt the floor slip away from underneath him, and the wind rushing past him, billowing his flaming cloak. He gripped his staff tightly, and embraced for impact against the hard, stone floor. Instead, Tee was shocked to find himself having fallen into a pool of green ooze. Spinning around rapidly, Tee found Ben laughing at his demise. Helping the wizard out of the pool, he labelled it for what it was: “Slime, just like you used in your Fire Resistance potion.”

Tee slowly nodded, but couldn’t help but feel that the goop still covered his body.

Regardless of how he felt, Ben walked further into the Catacombs of The Spire, leading Tee through a set of double doors, and down a flight of stairs. This is where Tee’s jaw hit the floor.

A massive cavern was sprawled out before them, a large hearth built in the center. Small alcoves were built around the room, high above the ground, hosting a variety of the different Town Banners that Tee had come to recognize and love. He noted the largest of the alcoves, set in the center of the wall on one side of the room, was designated for the Aurulian diplomats. Tee spun a little bit as he stepped further into the room, soaking in the details in architecture and functionality of the room. He’d lived in Auru for nearly half a year now, and never even knew it existed.

“You know,” Ben stated, “not many Aurulians get to see this place, let alone partake in it.”

“Heh, guess I’m one of the lucky one’s then.”

“You have no idea.”

Tee turned to Benged. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the real reason I brought you down here, is because Jed wants you here.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, she said she wanted you to experience what a real meeting of Asmund was like, seeing as how you’ll most likely have to lead one of these sometime in your near future.”

“Wh-!?” Tee started, but Ben gave a wave of his hand, as he saw Iyo beckoning him from the flight of stairs leading into the meeting room.

“Sorry! Can’t stick around to chat! I’ll catch you later during the meeting, yeah?” With that, Ben took off, leaving Tee alone with his thoughts and a massive, empty room.

Feeling something brush up against his leg, he saw a wolf rest at his feet: his dog, Tenebris. “Hey bud. Where’d you come from?”


***


Jedoi stood on one of the balconies of The Spire, overlooking the Aurulian/Hiloan lake. She watched as the people of Asmund and the other small villages milled about on the docks, but it wasn’t until she saw Xovious and Nokia face each other that she truly worried. The two men stood across from each other, both of them silently fighting for dominance. In one fell swoop, Xovious drew Bloodrune and Nokia drew Ashrune, two legendary fighters crossing two infamous blades. The resulting sound resounded off of every building for miles, instantly silencing the entire town. It took a moment for talking to resume, but it was definitely more quiet than it had been mere seconds ago.

Jed shook her head. “Morons.” She jumped over the cobblestone wall that acted as the guard railing, and fell onto the tattered docks. Years of salt spray and overuse had left them in poor repair, but they were strong enough to hold for another century, at least. As she landed between the two men, they instantly sheathed their blades, and took an interest in their shoes.

She swept a hand towards The Spire. “Shall we?”

With a few disgruntled moans, the three Town Leaders led the charge into the meeting room.


***


Tee sat on the floor of the meeting room, slowly petting his wolf to sleep, as he noticed the three town leaders walking down the steps. To his wolf’s dislike, Tee stood up at attention, welcoming the small group of powerful, political figures. He averted his eyes from Xovious, and felt the cold stare of Nokia hounding him. He kept eyesight with his own leader and mentor, hoping she’d save him from this awkward situation. She smiled warmly at him, and put him at ease.

“Go sit on the Auru platform. People will be piling in shortly and the meeting will begin soon enough.”

“Right, where will you want me?”

Jed thought about it for a second. “You see the chair at the head of the platform?” Tee looked up, confirming that there was a chair set a bit more forward than the rest of them.

“Yeah?”

“Sit just behind it. I’ll want you pretty close to me for this meeting.” Nokia scoffed, but Xovious, although it was slight and barely noticeable, gave a slight nod of approval.

Tee walked away, finding his seat in the rafters above the floor, dangerously hanging off of the wall. Even as he was sitting down, he saw the others starting to pour in and settle down near him: Bacchus at his left, representing Arvik with Nokia, Falksi, at his right, already slightly inebriated. He could tell this would be a good meeting.

Other leaders piled in, claiming their seats. Ben took up the seat just behind Tee, able to whisper into his ear and explain events all throughout the meeting, Iyo just beside him, staying oddly silent on the matter. Jed stood before them, smiling with radiance. She turned back to the crowded meeting room, glancing at each of the platforms, filled with representatives from every single town. With one last glance to her advisors, she bellowed across the chasm: “I call this meeting to order!”


***


Tee found the meeting relatively uneventful. It was mostly the discussion of town borders and the paying of taxes. New towns were recognized for their independence, namely Legio XIII in the North, and Cincia in the South.

Jedoi went to start the tallying of war materials and resources that each town had in it’s inventory, when a messenger tapped Benged and Iyo on the shoulder. Carrying on with the meeting, she heard the brief whispers of enemy forces coming from the Kalrosian Docks. She turned to Tee. “Go with them. I’ll want a report on the affairs later. Make sure to keep everything locked up nice and tight.” The wizard nodded and Jedoi turned back to the meeting room.

She saw the shadowy figure of Cryptite hanging from the chandelier. Oh no. Nothing good comes from Crypt being here.

The High King of Auru turned to the Draekonfell platform. She met the eyes of Xovious, who had also seen the messenger and Cryptite. He nodded, grabbed Bloodrune from where it was leaning up against the wall, and stepped into the hallway.

Tee stepped into the hallway, led by Ben and Iyo, and came face first into a blade blocking his path. With fear, Tee eyed the bearer of the blade.

“X-Xovious.”

“Where do you think you’re going, Tee?”

Iyo and Ben looked back and forth between their Ex-High King, and the Knight of Auru. Tee’s expression of fear and astonishment turned into stone cold determination as he pushed the blade away from his throat. “I’m on orders from Jedoi Talongon in my land of Auru. Is there a problem with that, sir?”

Xovious’ glare turned into warm-hearted compassion. “Good,” he said as he lowered his sword. “Then don’t let me stop you.”

Tee nodded, feeling as if some separation between him and the King had been wiped away.

“Now then, if you don’t mind,” Xovious said as he turned to the messenger, “I’d like an update on what’s going on.”

The messenger gulped, but Iyo and Ben nodded and ushered him on. “Well, there’s a rumor going around that Kallious and Bat are on their way here to Auru. They were seen boarding The North Star in Aladra.”

“Shit,” Xovious spat. He twirled Bloodrune as he looked at the Thief Lord, the Master of the Skies, and the young wizard. “Well, care to have another join your party of misfits?”

“Aye!” all three responded. With that, they made their way out of The Spire and stepped out into the bitterly cold, Kalrosian morning. The group made their way to the Southern Gate. Looking over the wall, sure enough, they saw the two Eldritchians perched on trees just outside of Auru’s town limits.

“‘Allo love,” Kallious cheekily greeted.

Tee tensed up, but gripped his Sunstone Staff tight, expecting some form of confrontation. Bat and Kallious leapt from the branches and landed on the walls, where Iyo, Ben, and Xov readily met them with their blades. Tee backed up in fear. He didn’t know how to properly wield a blade against the Eldritchians. The only thing he could kill without mercy was the mobs of the night, and even then, he struggled without some kind of magic to aid him. He turned to run down the ramparts, run for help, when a floating figure stopped him.

“Going somewhere?” Crypt smirked.

Tee stepped around Crypt and kept running, but that didn’t stop the fallen Vanir from following him down the path. “Who do you think is going to help you?”

“Damn it, Crypt. I don’t know. Maybe Thanatos wil-”

“Thanatos is still in Draekonfell.”

“Then maybe Bambi could-”

“She’s stuck in the meeting. Do you really think you’ll have that much time?”

“Perhaps Iyo can-”

“You just left Iyo behind, remember?”

Tee turned to Crypt. “Then what? What do you want from me, Crypt? It’s not like I can go back and fight those guys! Hell, I don’t even have a blade to do so!”

“Says who?”

“What do you-” Tee started, but was interrupted by a puff of purple smoke. Floating in the air before him was a well-crafted blade that shimmered in the midmorning sun. A certain energy radiated from the blade as intricate purple, black, and light blue sigils flickered across it’s surface. The hilt was neatly bound in black leather and the pommel gave off a bright shine. Just above the hilt, two small words were etched into the tempered steel: Arcanus Oblivio. Tee gripped the hilt, swinging it with ease. “Crypt this is-” Tee started, but Cryptite was already gone.

His final words resounded in Tee’s ears. “Do not let anything stand in your way of success, young wizard. Even if you’re not the best, just be your best.”

Tee nodded and turned around. He glanced at the blade one last time, admiring the sigils that glimmered across it. He looked on where his compatriots still fought and ran towards them.

Kallious glimpsed the wizard out of the corner of his eye. He laughed and yelled out over the roar of combat, “did you go and get help, lad?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did!”

Confused, Kallious turned and looked. A split second glance, but just long enough for the wizard to drive his shoulder into the ribcage of the invader. He swung his blade upwards, locking it with Kallious’ and knocking Bloodrune out of the eternal struggle for dominance.

“Tee! What’re you-” Xovious started.

“Now!” Tee screamed as he ducked down, just low enough for Xovious to drive his blade right through the Eldritchian’s heart. Kallious doubled over in pain, and was dead shortly after. Xovious pulled Bloodrune out of Kallious’ dead body, the blood that coated the blade boiling across it’s surface, almost as if Bloodrune was drinking it in. Xovious went to congratulate the young wizard, who only shook his head and pointed to where Bat was overpowering the two Aurulians tasked with taking him on.

Xovious nodded. “Again?”

“Again.”

The two swordsmen charged Bat, Tee sliding beneath the wild arc of Divine Intervention’s swing as it caught the Shadknife in the air. He swept Arcanus Oblivio up onto the flat edge of Divine Intervention, knocking it awkwardly to the side and sending a shower of purple sparks to rain down into the courtyard below as the sigils on the blade seemed to glow even brighter. “Switch!”

Xovious swept in and replaced Tee, going toe-to-toe with the invader, as a well placed strike from Ben’s Carnwennan found it’s mark in Bat’s arm. Divine Intervention tried to sweep away at the short dagger, the blue stones in the hilt and pommel set ablaze by the sunlight, and the simple, silvery blade itself playing tricks on the eyes of observers as it sparkled from the sun. When the blades collided, however, Carnwennan emitted an array of electric blue sparks. The dagger itself seemed to draw in the light from around it, instantly stealing the brilliance of shine from Divine Intervention. The Shadknife, pulsating dark black and green shadows, came back around and Iyo pinned Bat against the bulwark, holding him down for someone to make the final strike. Bat opened his mouth to say something, but was cut short when Bloodrune severed his head from his body. Despite him being dead, Bloodrune still seemed to gravitate towards Bat, almost like it wanted another taste of his blood.

Now Xovious turned to Tee and gripped him on the shoulder. Tee looked on in glee to his Ex-High King. Without a second thought, Tee balanced his blade in his left palm and slammed it into the decapitated corpse’s chest. He shrugged as he turned back to Xov. “Just in case.”

Iyo, Ben, and Xov just laughed as Xov wrapped his arm around the young wizard. “Let’s get you back inside there, kid.”

The small group, satisfied with the kills they had made, walked back to the Asmundian meeting. Little did they know, it wouldn’t be the last kills they had made that week.


***


Jedoi continued on with the meeting, Commander Andy and Shadow having replaced Tee, Iyo, and Ben. The Asmund alliance was discussing whether or not liberating the West was spreading themselves too thin or not. Jed didn’t have much of an opinion either way, although she missed her loyal Aurulians that were sent to Draekonfell.

As several towns were still debating the decision, Tee, Ben, Xov, and Iyo waltzed into the room, raising their bloodied blades. The room fell uneasily silent as they looked upon the warriors bearing their trophies.

“If Eldritch wants to fight, we’ll take the fight to them!” Xovious bellowed.

The resounding cry in agreement took the chasm by storm. Those that were shy to the idea, sank lower into their chairs. Nokia waved his hand in acknowledgement to Xovious. His leg was hung over the leg of his chair, his chin resting upon his left hand. He yawned and sat up. “Yo, Xov. You want to bring the fight to them? Then we beachhead them tomorrow.”

Xovious looked up to the Arvik platform,, seeing Bacchus glare at his High King, while his High King returned to his resting position. That’s when the meeting began to fall away from Jed: instead of being about politics and land divisions, the Asmundians were talking terms of war. She was exasperated at how quickly it had all escalated, but she was also surprised by her apprentice’s enthusiasm. Tee would never look to pick a fight, she thought. So why would he-?

Then she noticed his new blade. It had Cryptite written all over it. “Damn it, Crypt. You won’t corrupt this one with thoughts of conquest. Not this time.”

She stood up and addressed the rooms. “Asmund!” she called, silencing the room. “Take inventory of our stockpiles tonight. We rally in Ascalon tomorrow.”

There were shouts of agreement throughout the room but Jed got to silence them once more.

“Are there any other important matters that must be discussed?” When nobody answered her call, Jed shook her head in delight. “Good, now then,” she gave a brief pause.

“Tee Alduin, please step forward.”


***


Shit.

It was the only word that rang in Tee’s mind as he stood before his High King. What had he done wrong this time?

His High King leapt down from her platform and landed before her apprentice. “Please kneel.”

Oh no.

Jedoi drew Wolf Rallier’s Blade and rested it upon both of Tee’s shoulders. “With the powers vested in me, I dub thee, Tee Alduin, a Lord of Auru.”

The roar of approval shook the walls of the meeting room, sending shockwaves all throughout Auru. Civilians and other spectators who didn’t know what had taken place in the cavern far below could only look on in awe and wonder.

Tee rose to accept his Lordship, but Jedoi grabbed his shoulder, leaning in close to whisper in his ear. “Do not forget who you are, Tee Alduin. Don’t let conquest corrupt you like it has corrupted others. Please, don’t change Tee.”

She leaned back, a smile on her face. “I’ll see you on the battlefield tomorrow.”

[Hasn't be fully proofread yet. Questions, comments, concerns? Hope you enjoyed!]

 

[Xovious]

I LOVE the fighting scene, so freaking much, made the blades stand out, especially Bloodrune hehe. Also, the Nokkers part. is. the. best. representation. of. him ever!

 

[kallious]

I think we can all agree there is a huge and glaring inaccuracy with this post of yours.

“‘Ello love,” Kallious cheekily greeted.

I would never say 'ello, I say 'allo! Shame on you.

 

[Wizardteepot]

I think we can all agree there is a huge and glaring inaccuracy with this post of yours.

I would never say 'ello, I say 'allo! Shame on you.

Fixed it, just for you [to be fair, I was debating between the two. My apologies for choosing the wrong one ;-;]

 

[kallious]

Fixed it, just for you [to be fair, I was debating between the two. My apologies for choosing the wrong one ;-;]

<3

 

[Jedoi]

Chapter 7.5​

Evening light filtered through the windows, splashing sunshine on the long table before the throne in the High King’s home. Jedoi sat ideally at the table, not on her throne but where one of the town’s lord’s would sit during a meeting. Only two silent guards kept her company, as they always did. Upon Lord Ryan’s promotion to King after the departure of Xovious for Draekonfell, and inheriting his Guild of Warriors, Ryan had ordered two guards to follow the High King constantly. Or so they thought, at least. Whenever she walked in the realm of Slicers, she accepted defeat and let the guards follow her. But when cloaked in the magics of Guardianship, they were unable to follow.

Takes a bit more work to control a Guardian. Jedoi thought happily. Apricity and Entelechy, the only guards she needed, sat by her side as she waited at the table, fiddling with odd trinkets she kept around the meeting room.

Finally, the door swung open and a man entered, followed by two more guards. The person of interest bowed and looked to his leader.

“You summoned me, Your Grace?”

“Yes.” Jedoi glanced all four of the soldiers. “Leave us.”

“Your Grace, that would not be wise.” One of her regular guards said, narrowing his eyes at the newcomer.

“I'm sure the Thieflord is more than capable of protecting me.” She said, rolling her eyes.. “Now, leave us.” They reluctantly left, shutting the door behind them. Jedoi finally turned to her guest.

“Good morning, Iyo.”

“May I ask what this is about?” He inquired.

“Of course.” She nodded, gesturing for him to take a seat besides her. “There’s been a matter troubling me lately, and I’m not sure who to confide in about it. You're the only one I can trust.” She sighed, casting a sideways look at the empty throne.

“Nonsense, nearly every soul in this city is more than willing to die for you- over and over.” The Thieflord argued, as a man who had indeed died for her and her city many times over.

“It's about a member of Auru. No one can know, not even Ben.” She replied hesitantly.

“You've always trusted Ben.” Iyo pointed out curiously.

“I do, I suppose, but he talks too much.” She smiled. “But Ben isn't the reason I called you here. It's about Tee.” She furrowed her brow and looked over at Iyo, who showed nothing. The Thieflord was good at hiding his emotions, a trait Jedoi noted uneasily.

“Is something wrong with him?” Iyo asked casually.

“No, that's just it. There's nothing wrong with him. He's a hard worker, kind, intelligent, as loyal as a wolf. Since I've taken him under my wing, he's grown so much. Do you think I was right to give him a lordship?”

“That's your choice, of course. Yours and Ryan’s and Shadow’s. If you think he's worthy-”

“That's just it, I do think he’s worthy. I think he could become the best alchemist Loka has ever seen, the best historian, the best lord of Auru… -No offense -” she added, “and even a King one day, and an incredible one at that. I think every positive thing about him. What if I'm too close to him?”

“Too close? What do you mean?”

“I'm High King, Iyo. I have to place each and every Aurulian before myself. But I think about the Young Wizard far too often.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “It's impossible, but I really care for him. More than most of my people. More than I should.”

Iyo’s face finally betrayed emotion. His eyes widened slightly and embarrassment was visible. “I’m sorry, but why did you call for me? I don't know much on this subject… I don't have any advice to offer you…” The Thieflord muttered uncomfortably.

“I just-” The Wolf Mother started.

At that moment, the door slammed open. The two wolves leapt up and both Jedoi and Iyo stood with their hands on their blades before they recognized the intruder. The man stumbled forward with a smile and slapped Jedoi on the back. She could smell the liquor on his breath.

“Heyyyyyyyy, Jedoi!” He hiccuped. “What's this secret meeting about?”

“Bacchus, hello.” She answered, pushing him down into a chair before he fell over. “What are you doing in Auru?”

“I came *hic* to propose!” He announced.

Jedoi and Iyo exchanged a glance.

“Where is Falksi?” He asked, trying to get up. Iyo pushed his shoulder back down.

“Bacchus, she's in Draekonfell.”

“Oh… Right.” *hic* “I guess I should head that way then.”

“Oh no you don't, you are not proposing while drunk.”

“Why not?” Bacchus seemed honestly confused. Jedoi glanced to Iyo in disbelief, who shrugged in return.

“Why don't you go home, Bacchus?” Iyo proposed, finally addressing the drunk Lord of Arvik.

“Hmm, alright.” He conceded, and stood to walk for the door. “Oh, Jedoi.” *hic* “Have you asked Tee out yet?”

Jedoi froze and shot a glance at Iyo. She leapt in front of the door and glared at Bacchus. “Where,” she questioned angrily, “did you hear that?”

“Falks and I made a bet.” *hic* “Most of Asmund’s higher ups have been wondering. Do me a favour and-” *hic* “Ask Tee out before he asks you. I'm gonna lose at least three drinks if Falks wins.” He answered sullenly.

“WHAT?” Jedoi shouted, startling the two men. “HOW DO- I mean, why do people think Tee and I like each other? Has he said anything?” Jedoi bit her lip and silently cursed herself. She was centuries old, she shouldn't be acting so childish over something like this.

Yet even though she wouldn’t admit it to herself, having him by her side reminded her of an easier time, before centuries had passed. When she was a child. Before she was High King, or leader of Asmund. Before she had become a Guardian or even Sentry, back when her only responsibility was her single wolf companion. With him she didn’t have to be a strong political figure or a mighty wizard of an ancient order. She could just be herself.

“I bet he feels the same way.” Bacchus whispered, suddenly looking at her seriously. All drunkenness had seemed to fade and he bore a face of deep thought. “Anyone could see how much you two care for each other.”

The Wolf Mother took deep breath and looked back at the Lord of Arvik. “You think so?”

“Absolutely.” He hiccupped once more and she realised he was still horribly drunk. She shook her head.

“Iyo, you may head home. Thank you for meeting with me.” She finally said.

“What are you going to do?” The Thieflord asked as he rose. Jedoi glanced over at him.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

~

Inside one of the buildings in Auru, a wolf barked impatiently as his owner focused. The robed figure concentrated on the delicate bottles before him, carefully dropping strange bubbling liquids into them and capping them tightly. The wolf barked again.

“Just a minute, Tenebris…” Tee murmured, placing the cap on the last bottle. He turned to face the wolf as the small creature whined.

“Oh, I'm so sorry bud.” The wizard frowned guiltily as he realised neither himself nor his wolf had eaten today. “Let's get you some food right away.” Together they made their way outside of the Alchemy Guild and into the Warehouse, where he found crates of steak, bread, and fish.

He reached for the fish, but paused and glanced at the imported steak. Tenebris’s eyes followed him hungrily. Xovious would kill Tee if he knew the wizard had fed rare and precious steak to a wolf… But what Xovious doesn't know won't hurt him. He decided, grabbing a single steak and tossing it to Tenebris, who gobbled it up in moments.

Tee laughed, choosing a salmon for himself as they exited the Warehouse. He looked back at the ecstatic wolf when he walked straight into Iyo, who was walking from the south side of the Spire.

“Sorry!” The alchemist apologized.

Tee thought he saw a shadow of surprise,
an emotion rarely on the Thieflord’s stoic face as he replied.

“It's no problem.” Iyo reassured him, waving away the incident. He turned to Merchant’s Row, the eastern pathway, to his home. Tee watched him leave before making his way south to Jedoi’s house just in time to see his High King exiting along with a heavily drunk Arvikian Lord leaning on her.

“Heyy, Tee!” Bacchus greeted. Tenebris yipped at Jedoi happily, who smiled at Tee and his wolf pup.

“Hey Bacchus, what's up?” The young wizard asked, sharing a look with Jedoi as the drunk man hiccuped. He stared at the Aurulians for a moment.

“I forgot.”

For some reason, that made the Wolf Mother laugh, so much that she almost fell to the ground. Tenebris started howling joyfully, adding to the array of sounds.

“Let's get you home, Bacchus.” Jedoi finally said, wiping tears from her eyes. Tee laughed at the sight. He loved his home.

~

After dropping Bacchus off at the Aladran Airship to Arvik, paying the captain extra to make sure the drunk Lord didn't fall off the ship midflight, Jedoi found herself atop the roof of the Spire, clutching an incredibly old book. The dust was slowly floating off as she carefully wiped her hand over the cover.

Upon opening it, another plume of dust erupted from it, and the High King gently blew over it to reveal faded ink on the aged paper. It was about Lady Freyjia, the Vanir who had taken a liking to the Lokan people.

Amongst the many legends this world of hers harbored, the story of Freyjia was one of her favorites. The Asgardian goddess of love who rescued her and countless others when their world was endangered.

Freyjia, am I in love? She asked the stars. They did not answer her, but twinkled endlessly, shining as they always had.

 

[Wizardteepot]

[A/N: This is an extremely long chapter, so please, don't read it all at once. More specifically, it's 23 pages of google docs text, the longest chapter I've had to date...Good luck. Also, I'm not responsible for any tears caused by this chapter. I, myself, nearly cried a few times while reading it. Without any further ado, enjoy chapter 8!]

​

Chapter 8: The Arvik Beachhead​

Tee stood on the first deck of the Oakheart, bound for Ascalon. The salt spray coated his face and he laughed as he hung off of the ropes leading up the main mast.

“Having fun up there, mate?”

Tee looked down to see a rugged Garaman staring back up at him. Tee hopped down and apologized immediately.

The Garaman laughed it off, wrapping his arm around Tee’s shoulders. “You’re Jed’s boy, yeah?”

Tee gulped, but gleefully found Xovious walking up to him and the stranger. He clapped Tee on his free shoulder and turned to the Garaman. “Mars, let the poor guy go.”

Mars laughed, but let go of him regardless. Tee looked between the two men. “Oh!” Xovious shouted. “I suppose you haven’t met Mars yet.”

Tee shook his head, confirming Xovious’ suspicions.

“Well, this is Mars the Glorious, the leader of Vantis and our Southern allies.”

Tee turned to the man and stuck out a hand. “A long way from home, aren’t you?”

Mars gripped Tee’s hand in return, crushing it in his steel grip. “You don’t know the half of it. I’ll admit, I’ll take the chance to get out of the heat, but it’s still quite muggy here.”

Tee withdrew his hand, rubbing it as he estimated a total of three broken bones. “You should move to Kalros then. It’s quite enjoyable this time of year.”

“I may be bitter about the heat,” Mars spoke once more. “But I’m not crazy.”

Xovious and Tee started laughing when others joined the group. Xov placed a hand on one of the new members of the conversation. “Tee, allow me to introduce you to Companion. He leads the town of Kaldrsvell, another town in the Asmund alliance in Kalros.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tee said as he, cautiously, put out his hand. “I heard the you guys have the second best fighters in the alliance, only bested by Arvik.”

Comp laughed and turned to his compatriot standing beside him. “Haha! Did you hear this kid, Long?”

Long didn’t respond as he had a purple vegetable in his mouth.

“What are you eating?” Tee questioned.

Long took a quick bite of the vegetable, smiling as it was still stuck between his teeth. “Eggplant! Want some?” he asked, offering the half eaten vegetable to the young wizard.

“Uh, I think I’ll pass.”

“Fine, suit yourself,” Long said, as he took another bite of the eggplant. “More for me then.”

“Cap’n! Land ho!” a sailor called from the top of the mast above the small group of comrades.

“It would appear we will be docking soon,” a low, gravelly voice lamented from behind Tee, making him jump out of his skin.

“I suppose so, Iyo. Good to see you again,” Companion called out to the Thief Lord.

Tee turned around to see the Thief Lord’s disheveled hair, and dark lines radiate from under his eyes.

“Good morning, Tee.”

“Uh...hi. You-”

“Just woke up? It would appear so. A thief has to take every opportunity to grab a few Z’s,”

“Well,” Xov chipped in. “Once we land, we’ll set up a few tents, so everyone can get a few good hours of rest.”

Everyone in the small group mumbled in approval.

“Perfect. In that case, I’m headed back to bed.”

Tee went to wish the thief a good rest, but he was already gone. Where does he get off to, and so quickly too?

The boat shook as it had run aground. Two sailors hopped off the ship and landed on the Ascalonian docks, using some thick rope to tie the boat’s mast to some poles on the shoreline. A soft thud rung in Tee’s ears as the anchor hit sand. He knew they’d have to clear off the boat soon, as Oakheart still had to make two trips between Aladra and Ascalon within the hour. Already, Xovious was toting three crates filled with various weapons and gunpowder and carrying them over the gangplank. Tee ran up to him, noting how precariously the top crate tilted to the side. “Here, let me take one of these from you.”

Gratefully, Xovious relinquished the third crate, but winced when Tee nearly dropped it into the ocean, surprised by the weight. Xovious shook his head and laughed. “You’re definitely Jed’s boy, alright. Now move along! We’ve got over a hundred more crates to unpack!”


***


Jed stood on the Oakheart as it was bound to leave from Aladra’s docks once more. She gazed out across the ocean. Somewhere out there was her apprentice, preparing to die.

A hand on her shoulder spooked her, and she got the whiff of alcohol. Oh no.

She turned around to see Bacchus and Falksi hand-in-hand, both clearly drunk.

“Heyyyy Jed!” Bacchus slurred. “How’s it goinggg?”

She gave a warm, welcoming smile, but shook her head in disappointment. Was she surprised? Not particularly. There was rarely a moment where she didn’t see a flask at either of their mouths. Even when brewing, they weren’t afraid to...try some of their own product.

“It’s going...well, I suppose. I’m not looking forward to this fight, if I’m honest.”

“Have some alcohol, my dude! It’ll take some of the edge off, I promise,” Bacchus stated before belching.

Falksi drunkenly nodded her approval, handing Jed a small flask filled with, what she assumed by the smell alone, was strong absinthe. “You’re both idiots,” she said, before snatching the flask out of Falksi’s hand and taking a long, unbroken swig.

“Chug, chug, chug!” Bacchus started chanting. Jed brought the flask away from her mouth and wiped her lips. She looked over the flask, a small present she made Falksi for the holidays. She was glad to see that she was definitely using it. Jed let out a low chuckle and handed the flask back to the girl wrapped in plant matter. Jed leaned up against the docks, already feeling the effects of the alcohol. Damn it...I have to *hic* sober up before the fight.

“All aboard!” Jed heard the captain call out. Good, they were leaving soon. Now where did she place her sword?


***


Tee looked over the dozens of campfires that had been set up and hosted hundreds, if not thousands, of Asmundians around them, each telling tales of previous battles of conquest or sharing details on recent sales. Whatever the topic of discussion, barrels of ale were strewn all across the ground as alcohol was sloshed everywhere. If there was one thing that Tee had learned about the typical Asmundian, it was that they loved their mead.

He smelled meat off in the distance, as pigs (gifts from the Garamans) and lambs were roasted over spits. His stomach growled in response, he’d find himself a spot soon enough and chow down.

A rough, blonde haired man stood beside the young wizard. “It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it? So many people, willing to die by your side, but still simply men and women, enjoying some good grub and ale.”

“Indeed. It’s a shame it’ll be replaced with pools of blood by tomorrow.”

“Well, what a way to put a dampener on the evening, Tee.”

Tee turned to his unnamed companion. “You know my name?”

“You don’t know the half of it kid. After assisting in the deaths of Kallious and Bat on the walls of Auru, you’ve been all the rage of Asmund: The Unsung Hero.”

“Well, I’m flattered, but I can’t say I did much in that fight. Hell, I had run away like a puppy with its tail caught between its legs in the beginning of the fight.”

“Sure, that’s what you say,” the stranger stated. “But it matters that you went back. It’s the first thing that needs to be taught to a soldier, that there should be no fear of death and you should give it your all...and yet, you taught yourself that.”

“If you’ll excuse me, sir, I didn’t fight, just to fight. I fought for my friends.”

The stranger laughed and clapped the wizard on the back.

“That shows you have something to fight for. Even better.” He turned to the wizard. “The name’s Stampen, by the way. Nokia’s right hand.”

Tee shook his hand in awe. “Nokia of Arvik? That’s a high and mighty title, your battle accolades set aside.”

“Tell me about it. Now then, let’s get you some food, shall we? It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

Jed smiled in the distance as she saw her apprentice settle in with key figures of Asmund. Around the small campfire, she saw the laughing faces of Bacchus Markov, Falksi, Nokia, Xovious, Stampen, Benged, Iyoforeayo, Shadow, Mars, Macus, and some unnamed soldiers she didn’t recognize under the low firelight. She stepped over to the fire and found her apprentice, a slab of meat hanging out of his deprived maw.

“Can we talk?”


***


“What’s up, Jed?” Tee said as they walked away from the comforting light.

“I want to-” she started.

“Look, if this is about the food, I’m sorry I didn’t offer you any. My stomach was thinking, not my mind.”

“No, just shut up for a second, you dolt.”

Tee gulped, not expecting such an abrasive response. What had he-

“I like you.”

Three simple words that got Tee to stand at attention. Did he hear his High King correctly?

“As a henchmen, or something, right?”

“What do you think?” she said, a rosy blush spreading across her cheeks.

Heat radiated across the young wizard’s face, but he wasn’t holding his trusty wand.

He couldn’t think straight, his vision blurred, his tongue was tied and…



***


She said too much. She was such a fool and she ruined a friendship at such a pivotal time. Why did she ever let Bacchus talk her into such a thing. But now it was out. Tee knew how she felt.

“I’m so sor-”

A kiss stopped any further comments from the Wolf Mother.

“You talk way too much.”

Jedoi stared into kind and caring eyes that stared back at her. She knew she could not only entrust this man with her life, but also her heart.

He placed a hand between them. “Now then, if that’s all, can we go back to the campfire? I’m starving!”

She laughed, but hand-in-hand, they walked back to small fireside group where they were greeted with cheers, congratulations, and a round of raised beer mugs.

Over the roar of the surrounding soldiers and leaders, she heard Bacchus shout to Falksi, “Ha! You owe me three drinks, now!” Falksi cursed under her breath and the group erupted into laughter, having had a vague idea of the bet that occurred between the two.

Jed happily sat down among her compatriots, eager to grab some food for herself. She felt a hand wrap around her shoulder and pull her in close. She rested contently on the wizard’s chest, listening to entertaining bar tales that Falksi and Bacchus had to tell, time fading into the night, the fire burning down to no more than an ember. She felt a kiss on her forehead, followed by a, “good night, Jed.” That would be the best night of sleep she had in centuries.


***


Eldritch’s Champion saddled his horse a half mile away from the camps. Spurring his horse on, Skuhoo rode on towards Eldritch, determined to stop Asmund in it’s tracks. If they wanted to fight, he’d fight.


***


Tee wasn’t a dreamer. Ever since he had come and joined the Lokans, he found that he lost most of his ability to live in that state of semi-consciousness, even if he knew he was sleeping...almost. Sure, he had the occasional dream, usually just him and Tenebris running through the Moor, or him brewing a new potion that rarely ever worked, if he tried it again the next day.

But tonight was different. This dream was vivid, something it would take awhile for him to forget. It started off simple and sweet: him and Jed walking hand-in-hand across the docks of Auru, headed off to who knows where. Tee went to go face his love during the dream, but found her face was devoid of features. What was once her piercing, purple eyes, was a black void of nothing. In fact, she started melting away from Tee, along with all of the landscape around him, leaving him in a cavern of darkness and nothing.

Slowly, however, he noticed not one, but four dull, glowing strings pulsing in and out of view. The more Tee focused on them, the more they formed into shapes. They weren’t just strings; they were chains.

Four chains, fading in and out of existence, bound to a single person hoisted over a pit of lava. Tee tried to call out to him, but was immediately crushed by the effort of doing so.

“All in due time, Tee.” the man called out. “All in due time.”


***


Tee woke up in a cold sweat, the scent of lamb wafting into his nose. Instead of jolting up awake, he remembered that Jed had been at his side all night long. Checking for her presence, he noticed she wasn’t there. He panicked, but was greeted with a warm smile and an even warmer pan.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” she called out to him. “I made you breakfast.”

“I can see that,” he said, sitting up. “It smells delicious!”

“Thank you. And get dressed too. Xov wants us at the meeting soon.”

Right, the meeting that would determine their battle plan. Tee looked at Jed, hoping that they could stay on the backlines. As tempting as dying sounded, he just didn’t feel like dying today.

He grabbed his sword from where he set it beside a tree for the night, and found his Sunstone Staff lying right beside it. Picking the two weapons up carefully, weighing them in each of his hands, balancing them as if they were equals.

“Stop playing your toys, Tee.” The wizard glared at his High King who only laughed. “Go get washed up. Breakfast will be done in five minutes.”


***


Jedoi watched as her apprentice travelled to a nearby lake to wash off, ignoring the ever present smirk of Cryptite as he leaned up against the nearby tree.

“You’re a lovebird.”

“Shut up, Crypt,” she said as she pointed a carving fork at the fallen Vanir.

He placed his hands up defensively. “Look, just stating the obvious. About time you confessed to him.”

Jed turned back to the lamb, heat spreading across her face, not from the nearby cooking flame. “How long have you known?”

“No one goes out of their way to get a wizard his cherished wand.”

Jed went to say something, but she noticed Crypt was gone. She cursed his name, and jumped when he reappeared taking a small bite of the lamb she had prepared. “Delicious. Oh, by the way,” he started, mouth full of food. “Keep an eye of Arcanus Oblivio. It’ll make you proud today.”

With that, he was gone, leaving Jed confused once again. Tee’s blade? Did Crypt just say that Tee would be able to kill someone with it, or did he mean something else entirely?

Little did Jed know that Crypt meant the latter.


***


“Strike!”

A well timed, overhand strike struck Xovious’ Bloodrune, but was awkwardly bounced off out of harm's way.

“Again!”

Another swing, barely glancing off the blade, red sparks raining to the ground, daring to set the field alight.

“Once more!”

Tee, frustrated but glad to have a quick lesson in fighting, sent a shockwave through his teacher’s arm with his agile uppercut. He rapidly pirouetted, striking the other side of the blade, knocking it out of Xov’s cramped hand. Xov rubbed his wrist before bending down to pick up the blade.

“Well done, Tee. A bit unclean, but nice pirouette.”

Tee nodded, his hard work having gotten noticed. He heard his High King clapping somewhere in the distance, as Nokia trailed in behind her.

“That was some fancy footwork, but one small mistake will get you killed on the battlefield.”

“Nice way to encourage a recruit, Nokia,” Xov bantered.

“Hey, if he wants to learn, he’s going to have to learn the hard way.”

Tee, frustrated and cocky, drew Arcanus Oblivio and pointed it at Nokia. “Then teach me.”

The thrill of a fight sparked Nokia’s dark, brown eyes to life. “Tee, I don’t think that’s such a wise idea,” Xovious suggested.

“Nonsense. If the kid wants to learn, let him,” Nokia said, drawing Ashrune.

The two men stood face to face, swords clutched tightly.

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?” Tee asked.

Nokia gave him a wicked grin in return. “Oh, hell yeah.”

Xov shook his head, but hand up a hand. “Three! Two! One! Begin!”

Tee didn’t even get a chance to swing. Nokia quickly stepped forward, using Ashrune to knock Arcanus Oblivio to the side. He stepped far enough forward to hook his right foot around Tee’s left, pulling Tee’s left foot forward and throwing Tee off balance. Nokia caught Tee’s cloak by the neck with his left hand, suspending the wizard in midair, then brought the tip of Ashrune inches away from his throat.

“I think we’re done here,” Nokia said, before releasing his grip and allowing the wizard to drop to the ground.

Giving a little “oof” as the wind was knocked out of him, Tee scrambled to get up. He looked at Nokia and, cautiously, sheathed his blade. One day he could take on the skilled swordsman, but today was not that day.

Xovious gripped the bridge of his nose, but sighed in relief as he noticed other Asmundian War leaders joining the group. “Perfect, now let’s start the meeting.”

Jed walked up slowly to Tee, unsure still where they stood, or what was appropriate, and he seemed to understand that and keep a respectable, albeit still close, distance.

“Nokia,” Xov started, turning to the Arvikian. Nokia simply held up a hand.

“Say no more. You need me and my troops to keep Skuhoo and crew off of the scrubs. Consider it done.”

“Well, that’s saying it bluntly, but yes. We’ll need you to hold off the stronger Eldritchians so our troops can storm the lamps.”

“The lamps?” Tee whispered to Jed.

Oh yeah, she thought. He’s never been to a conquest fight before. “I’ll explain later. Just shut up and focus.”

Xovious turned to Iyo, Ben, and Stampen.

“Stampen, I’ll need you to keep your guys rushing the golems. Once they’re feeling charged, form a turtle shell around them and attack the lamps.”

With a grumble of agreement, the blonde man turned and went off to find his soldiers.

“Ben, I’ll need you guys in the sky, sending us information at the front lines and war camp. Iyo, have your men stick to the shadows and catch some enemies by surprise. The more dead by the unseen blade, the better,”

“Nature Girl and Beast Boy, where are you at?”

Bacchus growled, but Falksi curtsied in front of her king. “You’ve called?”

“Yeah, you drunkards. I’ll need you guys doing what you do best.”

“Which is…?” Bacchus started.

“Drinking?” Falksi responded, excitedly.

“Not quite,” Xov sighed, disappointed. “Serving. I’ll need you guys topping off our soldiers with Nollo’s and Tee’s potions.”

“Yes sir!” they shouted in unison, before running off to find the crates filled with potions.

“So, Xovious, where does that put us?” Tee asked, awaiting his orders.

“Glad you asked. Jed, I’ll need you and some Aurulians to watch our backs. Make sure we have a way out incase shit hits the fan.”

“Yes sir.”

“And Tee,” he said, scrutinizing the young wizard. “Find Kallious. Kill the bastard.”

Tee nodded triumphantly. “Yes s-”

“But that doesn’t mean you get to die. You have a lady waiting for you.”

“But Xov, the Artifact-”

Xovious shook his head, his eyes trailing off towards where Falksi had run off. “The Artifact is not a granted. Do not rely on it’s ability to bring you back in one piece.”

Tee gulped, not sure what he meant.

“Son, it’s plenty easy to die. It’s much harder to live, but make it so.”

He clapped Tee on the shoulder and turned back to Nokia. They went off, drawing their blades and rounding up their regiments.

Jed slipped her hand into Tee’s, noticing how stiff he had become. “Don’t worry about it, Tee. You’ll be fine. Don’t let Xov get inside your head.”

Tee shook his head. “Jed, what did he mean the Artifact doesn’t always work?”

Jed glanced at him darkly. “He could be referring to many things. For example, you remember studying The Blight, right?”

“Yeah, the thing that stopped the Artifact from reviving people, but I thought that’s been gone for centuries.”

“Well, yeah, but people still go missing all the time. For example, a few years ago Falksi’s father went missing, and no one knows why.”

“And Xov?”

“I’m not entirely sure. Something tells me he lost someone else too, as most Lokans do, but he’s always been very silent about it.”

Tee gripped Jed’s hand tight. Without looking her in the eyes he made her a promise that she intended to hold him to. “I’ll always find my way back to you.”

She smiled, squeezing his hand back, ignoring the chuckling of a nearby fallen Vanir.


***

Skuhoo stood on the nearby hill, his men preparing beneath the lip of the peak, hidden from the Asmundians view. Kallious and Bat stood beside him, viewing the preparing Asmundians, some of them sparring, as if that would help them prepare for a Covenant member.

Skuhoo scoffed. “So Nokia decided to show his face on Ascalon, huh?”

“He’s not the only one, Sku,” Kallious called.

“Yeah, Xov and Stamp are here too,” Bat chimed.

“What do you think, Borne?” Sku asked the Hiloan hanging just out of the group’s site. Borne cursed under his breath, but stepped into view of the small group.

“I’ve heard Kaldrsvell is also showing up, so we’ll have to deal with Companion and Longfellow as well.”

Sku nodded silently. Hip had overheard parts of the conversation and also joined in. “What about the young wizard, Tee Alduin?” he asked.

“What about him?” Sku queried.

“Don’t even start with him,” Kallious barked. “He’s a joke.”

“That’s a load of bull,” Sku said, darkly laughing. “He got you and Bat killed.”

“Yeah, because he had some help from the,” Kallious shivered, like the name of the people alone was bound to kill him, “Aurulians.”

Bat nodded, but a frown played across his face. “Do not underestimate him. In the time of adversity, he’s quick to strategize.”

“Well,” Sku said, glancing between the two, “Will one of you take him on? I’d rather have someone I can trust fighting him, than him slaying a few dozen soldiers before someone cuts him down to size.”

Kallious stepped forward. “I want revenge. I’ll do it.”

Skuhoo grinned. “Good. Now then, it’s time to spill some Asmundian blood.”


***


“Asmundians!” Xov bellowed over the gusts of wind that had picked up around the battlefield. The Asmundians grew nervous as they occasionally saw an Eldritchian cross the top of the hill. In their nervous chatter, they drowned out the commanding call of Draekonfell’s High King.

“Asmun-!”

Tee took his Sunstone Staff and slammed it into the ground, shooting a massive fireball into the air. The Asmundians instantly silenced, stopping their petty conversations, and stared at the young wizard. “I believe your commander has something to say to you.”

Xov smiled, glad that Tee was on his side. “Indeed, now listen up!

“Today we fight Eldritch, hoping to secure ourselves a sliver of territory in Ascalon. If we win this battle today, we could end this long, forsaken war!”

There was a roar of applause from the Asmundians.They had been fighting this war for much longer than Tee had been around. He could understand, with the amount of funds, and lives, that were poured into this war, many would be eager to end it. Tee hadn’t been a big part of the war, that much he knew, but if he could help end it...if he could have his name go down in history…

“You have your assignments. Follow your Captains and we’ll easily win this fight. Are you with me?”

“Yes sir!” everyone answered.

“I can’t hear you!”

“YES SIR!” they responded.

“Good, now get ready. Eldritch is coming.”

Sure enough, the Eldritchians were cresting the hill. Sku held up his hand, waiting to signal the soldiers forward and Xov did the same. Sku’s sapphire blade, his M9 Bayonet | Doppler shimmered in the sunlight, while Xov’s Bloodrune gave off a blood red sheen. Perfect opposites when juxtaposed to each other, and yet, here they were, ready to go to war. Tee’s heart stopped, the world falling silent, despite all the soldiers screaming and charging past him. One word, one command, and all hell broke loose; a cry for war that resounded on both sides of the battlefield. A word that shattered Tee’s reality, forcing him to realize just how blood hungry the Lokans can be, despite having the same, tragic backstory.

“Charge!”


***


Jedoi charged beside her wizard, gripping Mother of Auru, her gifted shield, tightly. Anytime a soldier went to swing at the two of them, Jed would block the blade and Tee would drill his blade right into their opponent’s heart.

The duo twisted and turned, cutting down soldiers left and right but, despite their efforts, were barely making a dent into the Covenant army. The soldiers unorganized in fear, quickly got a grip on the situation. They turned on the two lovers, poised to attack.

“Crap, we have to-!” Tee shouted, noticing the turning of the tables a bit too late.

As the blades went forward, a dark shadow swept in front of Tee and Jed, deflecting blades and striking down those brave enough to stay in the fight.

“Quaz!” Jed yelled, happy to see the captain.

“Captain Quazister! It’s good to see you mate!”

Quaz turned to face the wizard. “You’re a fool, you know that? Scram, before you get someone killed, kid.”

Jed went to object to Quaz’s harshness, but Tee grabbed Jed by the hand and cut their way out of the pocket of soldiers. Few soldiers tried chasing after them, all of which were deterred by Tee’s flames.

Jed saw soldiers dying all around her, the confusion of conquest settling in on her. Tee grabbed her shoulders. “Get a grip, Jed. Where are we needed?”

She nodded, understanding the direness of the situation. “We need to go find Kallious. The sooner he’s out of the way, the better.”

“Right.” Tee turned, bobbing and weaving between stray sword strikes and arrows. One strike landing in his shoulder, creating a deep gash across the top of his back, but he shrugged it off, only focused on moving forward. Jed admired his determination, but still showed worry.

As they kept running, they heard the bellow of the Ascalonian. “‘Allo, loves!”

Tee stopped dead in his tracks. Jed glanced over and noticed he stood atop the territory generator, the thing they were fighting so hard for.

“By the Lamps!”

Tee saw him even without Jed’s warning. It was hard not to. Stones devilishly swung back and forth as Kallious dropped down and strut towards them with ease, no soldier daring to touch him. Tee placed his hand in front of Jed. “Run, go back to your troop and hold down the escape route.”

“But Tee-” she started.

He gave her a look, fear dancing in his eyes. “Jed, now is not the time to argue. Go!”

She nodded, and took off. Kallious gave a low sounding whistle. “Protecting your girlfriend, eh? Let’s see how far she can run.”

Kallious raised his hand, a line of archers behind him readying their bows. Tee noticed that the small volley would shred Jed to pieces...unless.

“Fire!” Kallious ordered.

“I was thinking the same thing, Kall.”

Kallious turned, seeing the wooden bows ablaze, rendering them and the hands of their wielders absolutely useless. “If you want something done right, I guess you’ve got to do it yourself!”

Kallious shrugged Sticks off of his shoulders and nocked an arrow, aimed right for Jed’s back. Before he could release it, another arrow flew into sight, knocking his arrow to the side. Tee looked to find the source to see Falksi standing far away, holding her trustee bow Tree Whisperer. She gave Tee a quick thumbs up, before taking a swig from a flask in celebration.

Furious, Kall unsheathed Stones once more, advancing on the wizard. Tee steeled himself, preparing for an onslaught of strikes. Sure enough, they came quickly, and without remorse. A wide, overhand arc here, a short but lightning fast sweep there, a snappy uppercut destined to break someone’s bones. Tee caught every strike, but staggered back each time, the collision of the blades sending shockwaves through his entire skeleton.

This isn’t going so well, Tee thought. If I don’t attack now, Kallious is going to wear me down and kill me. On the other hand, a quick, unplanned strike could leave me vulnerable to a lethal attack.

Tee, with some quick thinking, separated himself from Kallious with a wall of fire. He slowly back away, flexing his wrist. He cursed under his breath.

“Leaving so soon, love? Come on, the party’s just getting started!”

Kallious rushed through the flames, Stones poised to strike the young wizard through the chest.

 

[Wizardteepot]

***


Nokia and Xovious cut through the ranks of Eldritchian soldiers, both alive with the thrill of the fight. As they spilled blood, Xovious caught Nokia’s gaze, his dark brown eyes blazing with bloodlust.

“Just like the academy, yeah?” Xov cried out over the screams of pain.

“Nothing compares to cleaving the heads off of your enemy!” Nokia laughed, Ashrune’s typically blue steel turning purple as it became stained with Covenant blood.

Bloodrune ripped through more armor, slicing a man completely in half. As the blood sprayed onto the soldier’s nearby comrades, it boiled across on the surface of the blade. Xovious’ sword was forever thirsty, always craving it’s next fix of an enemy’s blood, and when it came to a conquest fight like this...well, the blade saw it as a holy cornucopia of nourishment.

Xovious looked over the heads of the horde that surrounded them. Just above the hill, he saw Skuhoo, Bat, and Calixx. “Yo Nokia,” Xovious called out to his companion. “Check out the VIP’s up on the hilltop.”

Nokia brought Ashrune down upon man, cutting through his wrought iron helm and severing his skull in two. The Arvikian looked up and saw the men of interest. “Shall we, Xov?”

“Aye!”

Xovious and Nokia swung their blades wildly, Stampen shortly falling in line behind them.

“Stamp! Glad to see you, man!”

“Same to you, Xovious,” he said, swinging Excalibur. Xovious grinned, finally the Rune Council was back together again.

The three men, like the extensions of Death himself, hacked and slashed their way through the horde and made their way to the hill. They were followed by a small group of men, determined to stop them from reaching Skuhoo, but stopped in their tracks when the Champion halted them all. He exchanged a few words with his companions and quickly Hip replaced him. Sku simply walked away from the group, to the despair of Xovious. “Where are you going, Sku? Don’t want to fight me?”

“Unfortunately,” Sku started, looking back at Xov. “I’m required elsewhere. You of all people should know that any great leader should always be ready for his troops, wherever they’re lacking, rather than lust for his adversary’s blood. Perhaps you should heed my words, Xov. You’ll need them soon enough.”

Nokia turned to Xovious. “Don’t worry about him. The sooner we can clean this mess up, the better.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. You ready, Stamp?” he asked, turning to the blonde haired compatriot.

Stampen cautiously twirled Excalibur. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose. I’ll take on Hip, you guys worry about the others.”

Xov nodded. It was good to have an idea of what he was up against before he started fighting. “Well, then, I’ve got Calixx, you’ve got Bat, yeah?”

Nokia nodded, checking the sharpness of his sword. “Yeah, he and I have some unfinished business to take care of.”

Xov nodded, wondering what dark backstory Nokia and Bat had. “Well then, I’ll see you on the other side?”

“Yeah. I’d wish you good luck, but I doubt you’d need it.”

“Same to you.”


***


Benged felt the wind rip at his shirt, the Elytra wings strapped to his back carried on the airstream. He felt so alive, but feared the arrows that flew past him. A single one running through his wings could send him plummeting to the ground.

Well isn’t that a happy thought to think? He turned to his fleet behind him, each gripping their daggers and a handful of fragile potion flasks, flasks that had been filled with a poison that would seep into the skin of those it hit. Ben just hoped he hit the right targets, otherwise he’d be burning off the flesh of his own men. Again, you with happy thoughts. Way to go, Ben.

He shook his head, nose-diving towards the Territory Generator. He’d have one shot at this before he completely lost the element of surprise. He neared the Generator when he noticed the small figure of Tee nearby. Shit, why was he standing so close to it?

“Men, hold fire!” Ben yelled over his shoulder. He had to get Tee out of there before he could bombard the entire area and clear it out. “Circle back, we’ll try this again in five minutes!”

“Yes sir!” was the resounding answer as Ben heard the movement of the silken wings turning against the current, heading back to the war camp. Ben flew lower to the ground, noticing Tee back away from a figure who was swaying a blade viciously. The figure jumped through a wall of flame that Tee might have produced, but Ben couldn’t be sure. He dropped from the sky and landed on top of the unnamed soldier. In the fury and confusion of battle, Ben couldn’t identify who he had drove his Carnwennan into, deep into the small of their back.

“Whoa, Ben!” Tee called to the Master of the Skies.

“You just crushed Kallious!”

Ben looked down to the body as it was whisked away by the Artifact.

“Wait, what?”


***


The iron golems stared lifelessly at Tee and Ben. The redstone inside their eyes sparked to life and the vines that covered their chests broke apart as they started marching forward.

“Ben, we need to leave, now.”

Ben twirled Carnwennan in his right hand. “What if, instead, we don’t?” He smiled wickedly as he charged a golem, scrambling up it’s head and taking potshots at the machinery that was deep inside.

Tee would never understand the Thief Lord but, “if you can’t beat them, join them.” He ran at the golem, drawing Arcanus Oblivio back and slamming it into the golem’s face. With a bright flash, the sigils lit up and the blade slid through the iron like it was butter. The eyes fizzled out of life and the golem crashed to the ground, dissembling as it fell.

Some sort of power filled Tee’s bones. He turned to Ben. “Uh...what’s happening?”

“You’re charged! Quick, to the lamps!”

Tee ran to the redstone lamp but was still confused. His wounds from battle, along with the resulting fatigue, faded away from his tired bones.

“Right, you’ve been charged with an Iron Golem’s essence. You punch the lamp and pull out the wires. This will take down the shield that protects the Core of the Territory Generator.”

“Okay, but what stops someone from doing that without the essence?”

“Presumably, you’d die, but it’s more likely you’d tear your arm apart from the broken glass and you’d be electrocuted before you can even find the wires.”

Tee nodded. It seemed to make sense, but not really. In the heat of battle, he couldn’t worry about the trivial details, so he did what Ben told him to do: he smashed the glass, shoved his hand deep inside, and ripped out a hand full of wires. The lamp, like the iron golem, fizzled out of life, it’s bright orange glow fading away in the darkness of the night.

“Congrats, Tee.” Ben said, fully aware of the three iron golems that had replaced their comrade. “Now would be the perfect time to run, though.”

Tee laughed, “I’ll race you back to base camp!”

“You’re on!”


***


Jedoi didn’t mind holding the backline. She felt safe here surrounded by trusted Aurulians and a few Arvikians too. Of course, no amount of allies could prepare her for the sudden appearance of Skuhoo.

The man showed up out of practically nowhere, waltzing across the field like he owned the place. Jed chuckled, supposing that, for now, he really did own the ground they were standing on.

His sapphire blade sparkled in the setting sun, light refracting off all the uneven edges caused by the rough, blue stone. He saw Jedoi and laughed. “This should be an easy kill.” Skuhoo looked down at the kill counter, a rudimentary system of counting kills that he had set up just underneath the hilt of the blade. Flicking the small switch to add a number, he reached a perfect 1,000 kills on his M9 Bayonet | Doppler. “Ironic,” he shouted over the battlefield. “Such a momentous death for someone soon to die off in history.”

Jed winced in the pain of his words. For all she had done for the Lokans in the past few thousands of years, she always feared she’d be easily forgotten. Of course she never told anyone that, but somehow Sku had found a way inside her head, crumbling her confidence in this encounter even more.

Sku kept walking forward, closing the distance that separated him from the Aurulian High King. “There’s no knight in shining armor to come save you now, Jedoi.”

“I’m not so sure about about that.” The voice that spoke swept over her like a warm breeze; soft and comforting, and yet had the potential to become a violent gust and knock down all those that stood in it’s way. And the bearer of that voice? Her friend, her companion, her wizard.

Her Tee.

Skuhoo turned, spying the wizard standing before him, the smoke and confusion from the Territory Generator rising up behind him. He defiantly gripped his sword and staff, staring Skuhoo down, challenging him to a fight. Crypt’s words rang in Jed’s ears once more.

“Keep an eye of Arcanus Oblivio. It’ll make you proud today.”

Could Tee actually take down the Champion? She heard rumors of an old tale called “David and Goliath”, but she never believed a tiny human could take down a gigantic beast...and yet, here she was.

Skuhoo laughed, looking down once more at his kill counter. “It’s a shame, really. I expected the thousandth and thousandth-and-one kill would be on more significant people, like Xovious or Nokia. It’s a shame I have to waste in on low-life scum like you.”

Tee stayed silent, his blade carefully balanced between him and Skuhoo.

Jed couldn’t tell what thoughts were going through his head but, unlike his encounter with Kallious, the fear wasn’t showing in his eyes, and it definitely wasn’t dripping like bile in his words. Perhaps he was actually drunk enough with rage that he figured he could win the fight! Or worse, Jed thought, he was prepared to accept his death.

The more she thought about it, the more that latter seemed true but, as Skuhoo charged at him, there was nothing she could do about it except look on in a horrified and blank stare.


***


Tee knew he was going to die.

To be fair, he wouldn’t be the first. After all, Skuhoo was THE Champion. He wasn’t just given that title for any old reason...no, he was given that title for his combat prowess and his skill on the battlefield. Yet, when Skuhoo came running at Tee, he seemed to forget all of that, for the situation seemed too surreal, too much like a dream, to actually be playing out before him.

Skuhoo, keeping his center of gravity low to the ground, charged the wizard, his blade parallel to the ground and aimed at his core. A swift strike and Sku was knocked off balance.

Tee looked down at where his blade once was. He stared at where it was now, almost like it had moved on it’s own. The sigils were burning a bright, incandescent light of their purple, blue, and black hues. Tee mentally thanked the sword, then readjusted his grip on its hilt. He had to remember that he wasn’t alone in this.

Each strike was a well timed counter to Skuhoo, knocking his blade to the side, but always stepping forward. Tee knew that if he actually tried to hit Skuhoo, he’d end up dead. Well, he was going to end up dead regardless, so why not give it a shot?

A strong overhead strike was met with a well placed sapphire blade. Arcanus Oblivio sent purple sparks raining down on Skuhoo. Sku pushed back the wizard’s blade and got leverage over Tee. Tee was being forced to the ground as Skuhoo regained control of the fight. If there was anything Tee learned to admire about the Champion, is was his way to keep a strong but clear head in a fight. Of course, that admiration didn’t help Tee when he was on the other side of Sku’s blade.

Sku backed up a bit, giving Tee some unexplained reprieve. Confused, Tee started standing up. It wasn’t until he saw the M9 Bayonet | Doppler drop from Sku’s right hand and into his left, slip under his own blade, and right into his stomach did he finally understand the trap that Sku had set.

His eyes widened as he looked up at the Champion whose eyes were darkened by the night, but whose devilish smile still shone a sickly white. He heard a sudden gasp and screech from his nearby lover. Damn it, he thought. I forgot she would see me die.


***


The resounding echo of steel vibrating in the night was like music to Xovious’ ears, but it didn’t stop the shrill screech that shattered his peace of war. He turned around to see what the commotion was about, but what he saw wasn’t registering. Blue and black robes were billowing out to the side, but the bearer of the cloaks was standing still.

No.

No, no, no.

It was the only word that played out with each slaved stride as Xovious approached his target.

No, no, no! Not him, not now!

He was crawling at a dangerously slow pace, too slow for his liking, but his legs didn’t want to cooperate to run any faster.

He stood before the wizard, a blade of sapphires plunged deep in the poor sap’s core. He could’ve sworn that Tee had given him a wink, before passing Arcanus Oblivio over his adversary’s shoulder.

Whereas his travels seemed all too slow, the next few moments seemed way too fast, all ended with a simple word.

“Switch.”


***

The champion viciously grinned as he twisted the blade deeper into the wizard’s stomach. “So much for being a hero, Tee. Looks like you’re as useless as the dirt you step upon after all.”

The wizard gasped in pain and surprise as the infamous M9 Bayonet was shoved upward, creating a bigger incision in his abdomen, forming a gap in the skin where his stomach was, merely seconds ago. He went to speak, but coughed up blood across Skuhoo’s chestplate instead.

Tee’s face, twisted in anguish, swiftly turned into a dark hatred. He looked Sku square in the eyes. “If I’m going down, you’re coming down with me.”

Tee swung Arcanus Oblivio in an overhand strike, aimed to sever Sku’s left arm from his shoulder. Sku deftly knocked the sword away and it feebly fell out of Tee’s grip.

“You’re pathetic, you know that?”

“Who says,” Tee started, but was interrupted with a coughing fit of blood. “Who says I was ever aiming at you?”

“Huh?” Sku wondered what trickery the wizard was playing with him, until it all made sense, a third shadow joining the battle.

“What the-?”

Tee, darkly, with his last breath of life, said one word that would scar Sku for some time to come.

“Switch!”

It was then that Xovious plunged Bloodrune and Arcanus Oblivio deep into the Champion’s back, piercing several layers of armor, before they wound up, once again, in Tee’s stomach. Skuhoo looked down, the three blades calling out to each other, as they all caused the same terrible fate: an untimely death for the Champion and young wizard.

“You son of a-”

Tee weakly smiled, blood pouring out from his cheeks. Sarcastically, he gave Skuhoo a salute, and both of them fell to the ground, dead.


***


Xovious pulled the blades out of the cold, lifeless bodies, and kicked Skuhoo to the side. He glanced at the slowly fading sigils that coated Tee’s blade. With one fell swoop, he severed the monster’s head from it’s body. “That’s for Tee.”

Then, he took his own blade, eager for another taste of Eldritchian blood, and plunged it deep into the bastard’s chest. Quoting the young wizard, Xovious commented, “Just incase.”

Jedoi came running over, placing her hand under her apprentice’s head. “Tee!” she wailed into the evening sky. Whether the water that coated the wizard’s face, cleaning away some of the blood, was rain or tears, Jed would never know, although she could make a damn good assumption. She looked up at Xovious, standing at attention over the corpse of their dear friend. “How could you let this happen to him?!” she barked at him. Xov made a swift swing with one of the blades he still had in hand, and Jed flinched, falling backwards and using her arm to shield herself from the attack. When no blade struck her, she looked up again to see a pommel pointed at her, rather that the point of a blade.

“Don’t get angry. Avenge him. It’s what Tee would’ve wanted.”

Jed nodded, gripping the blade and drawing her own. Arcanus Oblivio seemed to warm up as Wolf Rallier’s Blade began to chill, like the blades were accepting each other, willing to bend their magic to help Jedoi exact revenge on those that killed her apprentice, her friend…

Her Tee.

With a pulse of energy radiating off of the blades, the world fell silent to Jedoi. She heard the pumping of her heart in her ears and the water that crashed to the floor, undoubtedly from her eyes. She looked over to Tee’s limp body, and at Xovious who was standing guard.

“For Tee,” Xov called out to her.

“For Tee,” she called back, before running into the night, destined to kill anyone that got in her way.

 

[Wizardteepot]

***


Tee could not escape the feeling of falling. A chill set in his bones as he realized he wasn’t just falling through air, but through thick, black water. Falling, drowning…

Dying.

Except, he couldn’t exactly die now, could he? He was dead already after all, wasn’t he? Sure, he had died before, when Gabriel had killed him in very much the same way, a sword through the gut, but Tee never experienced anything like this before. He had just woken back up in Aladra, like nothing had ever happened and he had simply fallen asleep.

Unless...maybe this is what Xovious meant; Tee was truly dead, and the Artifact wouldn’t save him now. He saw Jed above him, above what he assumed was the surface of water...the fine line between life and death.

A single tear protruded from her eyes, sending a ripple on the surface. Tee reached out to her, trying to call her name, but she turned away and the oxygen escaped from his lips, bubbling back to the surface.

He started losing vision as asphyxiation settled in, until he was snapped out of the water and was placed, once again, in the large cavern with four chains pulsing in and out of existence.

Tee was placed before the man, bound to the chains. He tried squirming away from the man, yet none of his limbs could move, almost like he himself was bound by the chains.

The man barely moved; he looked lifeless, but he slowly met Tee’s frightened gaze. He spoke in a chilling, hollow voice:

“You’re no good to me dead, Tee Alduin.”

Released from the chains, Tee was thrown backwards, slamming into a hard wall and breaking his spine. The man, was just out of view, and the darkness was slowly being replaced by a bright white.


***


Something damp was poured...no, applied to Tee’s face. Groggily, he opened his eyes to see his trusty wolf licking at the young wizard.

“Ugh, ten more minutes Tenebris. I just want to sleep for another ten more minutes.”

Tee closed his eyes, hoping to drift off back into sleep, but his wolf was relentless.

“Please Tenebris, just five more- oof!”

Tenebris pounced on the young wizard, instantly waking him up. When he looked around, he saw Aladra. He remembered his death, and his weird encounter with an even stranger man. He looked around, nightlife of Aladra full and underway as smoke was rising in the distance. Tee looked back at Tenebris. “Oh right! The Ascalon beachhead! Tenebris let’s-” Tee started, as he went to sit up, but was met with a sapphire blade.

Skuhoo.

“Tee Alduin…” Tee gulped, knowing he was at Sku’s beck and call. Although he was closer to the Artifact and Sku’s blade would do relatively nothing to him, he could still be lead by sword point to one of the continents where Sku could kill him again. Tee just got revived, he didn’t want to die again so soon.

“That was one dirty tactic, killing me like that,” Sku started, sheathing his blade. He stretched out a hand to Tee, offering to pick him up. “But I’ll admit, Bat was right. In the face of adversity, you’re quick on your feet to strategize.”

Tee graciously accepted Sku’s help, and brushed himself off, tiny bits of cobblestone, gravel, and dirt falling from his cloak.

“Now come on, kid. We have a fight to finish.”

Tee went to go question Skuhoo, but was interrupted by Sku’s matter-of-fact stride away from Tee as he headed back to Oakheart. Tee followed suit, hopping on ship bound for war. The captain looked nervous. Understandable, after all, as the champion rode on his boat like nothing had happened. Tee, calmly, took a seat by the starboard, hoping to get a glimpse of the status of the fight before he got back into it.

With a ring of the bells for the last call, the intake of the anchor, and a massive “heave!” call from the captain, Tee and Skuhoo headed back to the fight.


***


Blood.

It was the only thing Jed was thirsty for at that point. Eldritchian blood.

No amount of heads or legs or arms that she separated from various bodies could sate her. They had killed her wizard and she would make them pay dearly.

An upper hand strike cleaved a man in two; a sideways swipe slit another’s throat, his blood bubbling up and out of his mouth; an overhead swing landed itself deep in one more’s chest, ripping apart his midsection, splitting his major arteries, and killing him instantly. No matter the pints of blood that were spilled around her, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

Her own blood was pounding in her ears, blocking out the outside world. All she could do and swing and twirl, a deadly flourish of steel, spinning like a hurricane and knocking those down in tow.

She saw Stampen run past, running towards the Territory Generator. Good, Jed thought. The sooner they could end this fight, the better.

She turned to strike down another warrior who had appeared beside her, but was met with a red blade instead.

“Xov!”

“That’s enough, Jed. You’ve nearly painted the ground red, and you’ve nearly died four times yourself. We’ve got it from here.”

“But Xov-”

“Jed, that’s an order.”

“You don’t get to order me around! You’re not my High King anymore!” she spat.

“You’re right. And I get the fact you want to avenge Tee, but what good to him are you if you get killed yourself?”

“Xovious…”

He wiped the tears from her eyes. “Why fight for him, anyways? Why get yourself nearly killed, just for a friend?”

“You don’t understand Xov...I love him.”

Jed heard a small cough from behind her, causing her to stiffen up immediately. “You know, Jed. if you want to keep something secret from someone, you should make sure they’re not around to hear it.”

She whipped around, seeing the man standing before her in his iconic blue and black robes. “Tee…” she breathed.

“Je-” he started, before being pounced on by the Wolf Mother. “What is it with you people jumping on me today?”

Jed looked at Tee confused, but shook her head and nuzzled her head deep into his chest, tears coating the front of his cloak. “Don’t die on me again, do you hear me?”

“Jed…” Tee sighed, but then laughed, the vibrations erupting through his chest. “I promised I would always come back to you, didn’t I?”

Xovious walked up to the wizard. “Glad to see you back, Tee. Shall we finish this off?”

Tee brushed Jed’s hair as she was still gripped tightly to him. He cleared his throat, and she understood, backing away and brushing the front of her shirt off. Tee drew Arcanus Oblivio and his Sunstone Staff. “Let’s finish what we started.”


***


Bat and Kallious stood on the hilltop overlooking the remainder of the fight. Skuhoo came to stand beside them. “Sku, what do you want to do? If we don’t go after the Asmundians-” Bat started.

“They’ll get a beachhead? Oh well, let them have their victory today. We can stop them tomorrow.”

“Wait, you’re not serious, Sku?” Kallious started, turning to the Champion.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Sku said, turning to walk away from the fight.

“You just want to let the Asmundians win?”

“Kall, we’ve lost this fight, but not the war.”

“Bull! If you let them win one-!”

“Are you questioning my authority, Kall?” Sku asked as he darkly glared at his underling over his shoulder.

Kallious gulped. “Yes sir, I am. I’m prepared to go back down there and fight with everything that I’ve got, if only to stop them from gaining ground on us.”

Bat swung Divine Intervention and it landed before Kallious’ throat. “If you take one step and disrespect our High King, I will forcibly remove your head from your shoulders. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Bat.”

“Thank you, Bat,” Sku said offhandedly, as he turned away from the fight once more and started walking. “There will always be tomorrow for us to fight for.”


***


Tee, Xovious, and Jedoi stood side by side, swords poised at the beacon, the heart of the Territory Generator. “On my count,” Xovious started.

“Three, two, one...Now!”

The three swordsmen lunged forward, their blades shattering the glass. There was an eruption of color and light as the Territory became unmarked as a territory of the Covenant, and remarked as a territory of Asmund.

Cryptite appeared beside them. “Congrats you guys. You’ve got yourselves a beachhead on Ascalon.”

The cheer that resounded from the surviving warriors nearly shattered Tee’s ear drums, but he welcomed the noise with glee. They did it...they finally did it.

It was time to liberate the West.

 

[Xovious]

You are an amazing writer! Damn I loved this so much

 

[Iyoforeayo]

This gets better with every chapter. Oh man, that death scene... Amazing work as always!

 

[Wizardteepot]

[A/N: This has been long overdue. 'Bout time I got it out. Sorry for having an actually short chapter for once Just couldn't match the brilliance of Chapter 8. Anyways, enjoy! Comments, questions, and concerns are always appreciated. Also, any guesses on who the Man in Chains is? No Jed, Xov, nor Lea, you don't get to answer!]


Chapter 9: Vroom Vroom!​

“Wake up, Tee. Today will be a long day for you.”

The shattered voiced ripped it’s way down Tee’s spine as he briefly saw the man hanging in the chains. Tee bolted awake, his bedsheets drenched in sweat. He sat up, his head swimming, and got out of bed. He grabbed his robes from a hook off the wall and quickly changed. He then attached the sheath of Arcanus Oblivio to his belt, and plucked the Sunstone Staff from where it had rested on his bedside table. Even as he picked up the staff, he could tell something was wrong; the blood-curdling laugh that ripped at his skin didn’t help either.

He looked down at the Sunstone and noticed that small splotches of black had started permeating the dense, red shine of the stone. He dropped the staff in fear and terror, back away slowly from it. The laughing grew louder, drowning out the incessant knocking on his door from below. As he cowered in fear, knocking over pots filled with flowers and various potions that he had strewn about his room, the stranger on his porch stepped in and ran upstairs, hoping to see what all of the commotion was about. Jedoi turned the corner to see her boyfriend pressed up against the wall, trying to get away from whatever was in the center of the room. Jed turned around to find the Sunstone Staff boringly laying in the center of the floor. She picked it up, examining the weapon of the Wizard’s choice. When she could find no errors, she handed the staff back to Tee, no matter how reluctant he seemed to claim it once again.

Tee gripped the staff tightly, inspecting the Sunstone once more. He noticed the dark splotches were gone. The laugh echoed in his head once more. “I told you, today is going to be a LONG day for you, Tee Alduin.”

Tee gritted his teeth, but snapped back into reality as his High King snapped her fingers in his face.

“Hello? Did you even hear me, Tee?”

“Wh-? Sorry, Jed. No, I didn’t. What was the question?”

“I said that you looked terrible. Did you sleep okay last night?”

Tee shook his head and looked into his leader’s eyes. As he was about to say something, she cut him off.

“Never mind, I can already tell the answer is ‘no’. What’s wrong?”

Tee shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. I couldn’t get comfortable last night, I suppose, and never fell asleep.”

The voice in his head laughed once more. “Try doing it while strapped to chains, then come talk to me.”

Jed shook her head in concern for Tee. “Perhaps it’s the conquest fight getting to your head. Come on, I’ve got some plans for us today.”

Tee rubbed his eyes shut, flinching as he saw the man in chains once more appear before his shut eyelids. He shook his head a bit, grabbed Jed’s hand, and lead her down his spiral staircase.

He lead her across the marble floor and stepped outside onto the ever busy streets of Auru. He looked behind him at his new home. When Tee had been deemed a lord, Iyo had made it his duty to construct Tee a new home: one fit for a noble of Auru. Tee assumed that, with all the other construction projects around Auru that Iyo was taking on recently, it would take him and his crew at least a year to even start on his new house. How he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Iyo saw to it personally that his house was built, spending a total of three days planning out the construction, gathering the materials, and putting together the infrastructure. The result? A well crafted tower, home to the Young Wizard of Auru. Water flowed out of mouth of gargoyles, situated around several windows that peered into Tee’s bedroom. The stone base sunk itself into a hill that had a perfect view of Auru’s glistening lake. Tee enjoyed the breathtaking views, but he liked the fact he could observe the ongoing activities of Auru from his tower even more. The new house put him in the center of all the action, closer to The Spire and Alchemy Guild, making it easier to travel back and forth between the two. Already, Tenebris had made himself at home, occasionally pushing Tee out of his bed at night as Tenebris greedily stretched out on the soft mattress. Tee would only laugh and shove him back, making enough room for the two of them.

Tee stretched, glaring at the sun as it peaked over the edge of The Spire. “What a wonderful morning. Quite the view, isn’t it?”

Jed turned to the young Wizard. “I don’t know, I think my view is better.”

Tee turned to see the High King blushing. “Oh shut up,” he said, lightly punching her in the arm and laughing. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, the heat spread to his cheeks as well.

The couple walked hand-in-hand towards the tavern. Stepping inside the dim lighted establishment, they grabbed themselves a bit of breakfast, throwing some scraps to their respective wolves. After paying the new bartender, and having a stabbing pain of not having Falksi around, the two stepped out of the tavern. The young wizard turned to the Guardian. “So, where to?”

“North,” she said, pointing past the Spire and towards the Northern Gates.

Tee gave her a questioning glance, but together they marched onward. Nearing the stone brick walls that surrounded their home, Tee shouted up to the gatekeeper. After throwing a few switches and a heave of a lever, the rusted iron bars groaned as they were slowly pulled upwards. Jed and Tee slipped under the gate before it even rose a full meter. One of the spike ripped across Tee’s back, sending excruciating pains in shock waves across his body. Jed turned to her apprentice, confused and concerned. Tee held up a hand, grimacing as the pain tore at his outside, and a wicked laugh shredded his innards.

Tee looked up, scrunching his face in pain and anger. He looked back at the gatekeeper and gave the signal to lower the gate. The iron bars dropped left Tee’s ears ringing.

The wizard clutched at his back, feeling blood seep through his tattered robes. He gritted his teeth and, despite Jed’s urge to turn back and heal his wounds, he strode North. Whatever this man in chains wants from me, he thought, he’s not getting.

“You will think twice about that statement, Alduin.”

Tee shook his head, stepping across the old, Hiloan road. The further North he travelled, the more he felt the cold, bitterness of Kalros settle in. Sure, it made the trip uncomfortable, but not unbearable. The chill that crept along Tee’s spine, definitely aided in subduing the pain of his wound. He looked back at his companion, eager to fulfill any duties she had for him this day.

He was confused, however, on why she had a sled and picnic basket hidden behind her back…



***



As they crested an icy mountain, Jedoi stopped in her tracks and pointed down to large ice spikes that pierced their way through the frozen earth into the open air. “Down there, Tee.”

Tee turned to what his High King was pointing at specifically: a small haven set between a set of ice spikes. “What is it?” He saw a few ruined buildings poking up, just over reach of the natural wall the ice spikes made.

“Feronin.”

“Feronin?” Tee asked, turning to Jed. “Wait, isn’t that Xovious’ old town?”

“Aye, indeed it was. And what it place it was too.”

“I never took Xovious to be much of a builder, if I’m honest,” Tee said, turning back to the scraps of his Ex-High King’s history.

“Heh, he’s not.”

Tee turned back to Jed, her words lost in translation. “Come on,” she beckoned, leading him to a flatter part of the mountain peak. She placed down the sled on the fresh fallen snow, and told him to hop on.

“Excuse me?”

“What? Never been sledding before?”

“Jed, I don’t think this is the time to be sledding,” he countered, crossing his arms. “We’re at war right now. Don’t you think we should be scouting out the area, or gathering supplies or something?”

“We should, yes, but why do that when you can sled instead?”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

Jedoi shook her head and patted her hand on the sled. “Nope. Now then, you’re going to sled and enjoy yourself. That’s a command from your High King!”

A wide smile cracked across Tee’s confused face. “Yes ma’am!” He straddled the sled, and off they went, riding down the hill.



***



The icy wind bit into Tee’s face as it rushed past, the sled swerving back and right to avoid the jagged rocks that narrowly poked out from beneath the surface of snow.

Tee was enjoying himself, until a image of the man in chains seared itself into Tee’s mind, obscuring his vision. Tee swung the sled to the left, blinded by his tormentor, and crashed into a rock formation. The sled flipped and he went face first into a pile of snow, head cracking against the stone. The light quickly faded from his eyes as he saw Jedoi, mostly unharmed, rushing over to help him.

“Damn it…” he said, before passing out.



***



Waking up again, Tee found himself back in the dark chamber. He saw the chains pulse into existence as his watery vision began to clear and his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Tee tried moving, but it seemed like, once again, he was strapped to chains himself. He spat as the man came into view. “Who are you?”

“I’m sad that you really can’t remember, Tee Alduin. After all, I taught you everything you know.”

“I should know who you are?” Tee asked, cocking his head to one side.

“You should remember my name any time you use that staff of yours.”

The man looked up, as if noticing something far above his chamber. “It looks like your girlfriend is about to wake you up, Alduin. Let me leave you with this one piece of advice…

“No matter where you are, or who you’re with, you won’t be able to hide from me, Alduin. You’ll always find your way back here, doomed to release me from these chains.”

“Lies! I would never do such a thing!”

“Really? Try telling that to Cryptite, or even seek out the guidance of…” the man shuddered as he finished his sentence. “Magnus.”

“Either way, I’ll see you soon, Alduin, and don’t forget what I told you. I’ll be looking forward to the day you release me from these chains and I can finally destroy this world. Now then, wake up.”

A white light ripped away at the darkness of the cavern, blinding Tee’s vision. Though he could barely see two feet in front of him, he knew the man in chains was smirking.

“When the time comes, I’ll wipe that smirk off your damned face,” Tee shouted, as he was pulled back into reality.



***



Jedoi leaned over her apprentice, drawing him back to consciousness. “Tee! Tee, are you alright?”

Something dark washed over her boyfriend’s face as he glared past her, almost into the sky itself, looking for an answer. He muttered, quietly enough that she could only just barely hear him, “I might unbind him one day, but today is not that day…”

“Tee! You’re awake!”

The young wizard turned to the Wolf Mother. “Hey Jed.”

“H-hey.”

“Ready for another round of sledding?” he asked, standing up and brushing off the soft snow from his cloak.

“But-you just…”

Tee held up a hand to quiet his High King. “Everything’s fine. A bit of a nasty headache, if I’m honest.” He seemed to flinch, but tried hard to brush it off. “So, more sledding?”

Jedoi nervously laughed. “Sure, but this time maybe I should steer.”

“Yeah, that might be for the better. Now come on! What’re we waiting for?”

The couple laughed as they, once more, trudged up the mountain side, preparing to sled the whole way back down.

***



After a few hours of sledding and a well prepared meal, the sun started to dip below the peaks of the mountains and the happy couple returned home. Making it inside of Auru, hand-in-hand, walking along the docks, they were suddenly surprised by an out of breath messenger and a stampeding horse.

“Your Majesty!” he said, turning to Jed. “My lord,” he finished, turning towards the wizard.

“Enough with the formalities,” Jedoi said, beckoning for the messenger to stand once more. “What is it?”

“My lieges, I present to you Bacchus Markov of Arvik.”

“Bacchus!” Tee shouted, as the lord and bartender of Arvik jumped off his light gray stallion. “Long time no see, bud. What’s up?”

“Guys, we have a problem.”

“What’s up, Bacchus?” Jed asked, allowing time for the lord to catch his breath.

“It’s Stampen and Nokia.”

“What about them, Bac?”

“They’re missing.”

In the panic of the news Bacchus had just told the Aurulian High King and Lord, they barely heard the Western Gate open to allow a small ship in. Tee turned to the ringing of bells and saw recognizable, Draekonfell flags. “Oh no, this can’t be good.”

The small galley sailed right alongside the dock. Before the sailors could latch a rope to the docks and anchor the boat, a frightened Falksi was over the side and running at the small congregation of Asmundian Nobility. “Slow down, Falks!” Tee shouted to the oncoming Lady of Draekonfell. “What’s wrong?”

She huffed and caught her breath.

“Xovious is gone.”

 

[Thanielle]

<3