ocean-life [29] Monsters
[29] Monsters
[29] Monsters
Bjorn watched as the tiger demon knelt in front of Tanisha. Everyone seemed to have some reverence for what was going on. Even the sound of the fire seemed to grow quieter in anticipation for what was to come. Tanisha looked to have some reservation now that it was time to choose. Bjorn could see the conflict play out across her tired face, but she never broke eye contact with the demon.
Tanisha bit her lip then asked. “Wait, how will this effect Bjorn or the Familiar Bond?”
Joha seemed to smile at that. “It shouldn’t have any bearing on either. Once the maya is expelled from your core it won’t travel into the bond you have with anyone. I am not a patron of Bjorn, nor has he used the smoking pipe to create the proper maya channels. The only way it would affect him at all would be if he already had the proper channels for Higher Plane energies.”
“Bjorn.” Failsafe stated in a panicked tone in Bjorn’s head. “Break the familiar contract.”
“What? Why?” Bjorn asked as he looked at his other head.
“Bjorn your core has been trying to imitate Higher Plane energy since you were born.” Failsafe screamed. “Break the contract.”
“Wait but that was aether this is a completely different type of energy, right?” Bjorn questioned.
Bjorn looked at Tanisha who was taking a deep breath. She sat up straighter and he could tell she had come to a decision.
“Bjorn. Cut the bond.” Failsafe screamed.
“If I do what will happen to Tanisha?” Bjorn asked. “Our bond is stabilizing her mana, right? If I cut it and he introduces maya into her chaotic core, will it cause problems?”
Failsafe is quiet for a single heartbeat. “It might kill her.” He said softly. “But if that stuff is introduced into you while your mana core is as it is now, it will kill us. Bjorn, we are a long way from level 410. If we die, that’s it.”
Bjorn looked at Tanisha; the scene played out in slow motion as adrenaline coursed through his body. He felt the familiar bond and its connection to Tanisha. It would be so easy to cut and to let her die so he could live. He felt the bond with his mana, the trust, the emotions, the pride and the love Tanisha put into it and to him.
All he could think about was the last memory he felt in his first life. He was a mage of incomprehensible power and he wept for a kingdom burning and even for his enemies all around. Yet in those final moments he chanted a spell that would have saved those too weak to save themselves. He failed, he died, and he had his chance to live again. He wouldn’t kill Tanisha to save himself not now, not ever.
“I am ready.” Tanisha stated.
The boys flew up over the wall and landed softly on the other side; they all fell to the ground, exhaustion finally taking the last of their strength. The boy with sandy brown hair looked up at the sky, his eyes no longer saw the aether, only the fractured sky above. It looked more like a festering wound than the clear blue he saw less than ten minutes earlier. It was all a facade, the peaceful world he thought he knew was a manufactured by the gate.
It took a few minutes for him to notice anything beside the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. There was a scream from one of his friends. He looked up at the wall expecting to see something up there staring back at them.
Could the creature climb? Did they need to run more? Where would they go, this was it. The boy thought to himself.
He didn’t see anything, so he sat up and saw crimson fluid paint the ground. Martin was bleeding and losing a lot of blood. The boys didn’t know what to do. They needed to get him to the healer and quickly. The last swipe of the long-bodied monster did find its mark and cut off one of Martin’s legs at the shin and halfway through the other.
“We have to carry him, get the other arm.” Jiri said.
“R-right.” The boy with sandy brown hair responded.
“Pavel, go find the healer.” Jiri yelled.
Pavel ran off and the two boys hoisted Martin over their shoulders as best they could. The screams of the monsters on the other side of the wall acted as a constant reminder that they weren’t safe. The alarm's spell began to blare, and the sound of panicking villagers soon filled the air. It wouldn’t even be fifteen minutes before the sound of fighting inside the village started.
Martin was barely lucid by the time they made it to the creek. The two boys had to hold on tight to their friend as he started to slip down. As they crossed the bridge they saw a monster, this one spider-like but covered in porcupine quills. It was as big as a house and in the middle of combat with Petr, Martin’s dad and the town's magecrafter.
Aetheric symbols slowly came into being orbiting in the air around Patr as the aether warped to his will. Blades of wind followed his hands as he swiped at the air. Each blade shot outward slicing into the monster but failing to penetrate deeply enough into the tough exoskeleton to cause fatal damage. Patr used aether and wind to move around the battlefield as he dodged the blade-like arms of the massive spider creature.
“Boys get inside.” A voice called from one of the nearby buildings. “Quickly.”
An explosion of aether shot off into the sky as the string of floating symbols around Patr finally finished forming. Patr pointed his hand at the monster and screamed in angry triumph as the world shuttered under the weight of his aether. A bright light tore through the spider monster, and it roared its final time before it slumped to the ground.
The man in the building rushed out and grabbed the boys. He was one of the farmers and a dear family friend like most people in the village. He easily carried the three boys and ran back to his house. The monsters were still coming and the sound of more aether, more combat and more monsters never stopped.
“What did I do?” The boy with sandy brown hair said to himself.