Chapter 27: Reminiscing
/Arches. A curious thing, those are. Doors or gates, sometimes, and again others are rifts, tears, cracks, or breaks. What are these curious things, to make them so potent? What is it, that allows them to make a small town into a city, or level an entire capital?
Well, to keep things short, they are essentially like tunnels, connecting us... somewhere. Where exactly? Well, sadly I cannot say. Neither can anyone else, however, simply because of how unpredictable they are.
See, they don't lead to any concrete space on our world, nor do they lead anywhere sensible. All navigation is pointless in them! There are usually no stars, none that we would know at least, and any compasses malfunction. some of them have a sun that goes the wrong way, some have multiple suns, some are entirely dark and again others lead underground.
Yet, this rabbit hole goes further! In fact, some of them don't even lead to any place that even seems hospitable, oftentimes one will find themselves in weird areas where space shifts and there aren't even major landmarks to navigate around.
But there are a few things we know. All of them have an end, a wall, so to speak. Many of them will look like northern lights, though others make take the appearance of a sheer cliff, or an endless ocean. In any case, these are never crossable.
Furthermore, we have also determined that some of these tunnels are permanent, and some temporary. It's a simple distinction: any term akin to a door means permanence, any resemblance to something breaking is used to refer to temporary tunnels.
In any case, these are usually full of monsters or frenzied beings, and are better left to experienced combatants, but I encourage my fellow researchers to explore them alongside a party of experts.
May we uncover the answers those ethereal creations hold together in the future./
An excerpt from "A documentation of Tunneling" by Armeyus the Scholar.
- - - - - -
Mercury had made his way back out of the bandit camp quite easily. The bandits weren't that vigilant, not really expecting humans, but rather wild animals. They relied on torches to keep them at bay and were chatting during their patrols. Idiots, if only they knew.
Mercury, on the other hand, felt quite good about himself. Scrolls and books to read during his breaks, as well as valuables to sell. Maybe he could afford food with that. Hopefully he wouldn't need to eat rats. He found them pretty disgusting.
And so, our hero's toil continues, covering the vast swathes of land between Treyno and Stormbraver. It was a great distance, yet he did not despair, for he was one with purpose. He walked for the sake of finding those he cared about. He walked to gain back anyone and everything he had lost. He walked-
GOD DAMN IT JEFF!! OUT OF MY OFFICE, RIGHT NOW!!
Ahem. Excuse the outburst. I personally dislike it when my colleagues insist on breaking into my workflow. I take pride in what I do, and others, thinking they need to insert their own style in the middle of my novel, are not appreciated. In any case, where were we? Ah, right.
Mercury continued on his way towards Stormbraver without major problems. The road was relatively quiet, most traffic going towards the frontline. And with guard patrols slowing down, few people wanted to take the risk of travelling far.
In essence, Mercury got his peace and quiet. He had a lot of time to just... think. It was a little annoying to meditate, especially since he had to keep his eyes open, making it harder than it needed to be. He tried to do a little bit of magic practice, but he also just thought about what he would do once he arrived in Stormbraver.
He would have to find a tracker, of course. He had no idea which one of his wolves was still kicking, unfortunately, so they also needed to be good. Probably using some sort of fancy magic stuff that worked with just names as well.
If that didn't work out, he could also always just go to a library and read up some more on blood eclipses. Knowing more about them couldn't hurt. Now that he knew a bit more about tunnels, the holes he saw the monster crawl from during the eclipse was very reminiscent of those. He just didn't know enough.
He didn't know if his familiar counter reached through rifts, he didn't know if those could be made by a person, he didn't know if those... openings were even rifts. He didn't even know if his familiar counter had a limit to range in general, nor did he know if the monsters dragged people back with them or just ate them.
It was... too muddled. Confusing. His memories about it already were a blur, everything was too hectic, and the sheer volume of adrenaline coursing through his body in the moment probably didn't help either.
He sighed when he thought about it. He was getting worked up. It wasn't good for his blood pressure. He didn't have any problems with blood pressure, but there wasn't really any need to increase his risk, was there?
Mercury decided he needed to distract himself from those thoughts, so for a little time, he allowed himself to think back to earth. To his three years of college, before he had to drop out, specifically.
He had been studying communications first, but after a year, he had had enough. He enjoyed the writing exercises, but his professors sucked. Majorly. Most of what they did was analysing text after text, oftentimes poems, and a lot of it was very one-sided and patriotic. He wanted to be able to write more himself, and maybe also read some speeches by non-American authors.
So he swapped over to business. He thought that one might be fun, but a lot of professors were very pushy, maybe to try to get them to speak up. It was honestly a little intimidating. But he liked most of the theory and number-crunching.
He failed the finals in his second year. He couldn't afford college for that much longer. Not with his student loans piling up. He dropped out. He wanted to be able to pay back his loan eventually, and if he had continued with college, he wouldn't have been able to.
It was sad to say goodbye back then. He really got along well with Daniel from economics. They hung out a lot. He was too good to vent to. Kind, patient, empathetic, supportive, a really great guy. Maybe sometimes a little quiet, but that was fine as well.
And then there was Mia, too. They met when Mercury, no, Steve, was still studying communications. She was always so bubbly and energetic, wanting to talk about everything with him. Sometimes she was a bit of a gossip, but more often than not, she would rant and rant about the professors. Her impressions were unbeatable, especially when it came to mimicking accents.
For some reason, Mr. Loathesgate always had it out for her. Whenever she seemed even a little tired or unprepared he would ask her about specific topics she disliked, under the pretext of furthering her talents. Yeah, right. He only wanted to humiliate her when she was distracted. Maybe he was intimidated.
Steve really liked those two, but unfortunately, he moved to another state for work.
His work, huh.
Mercury shuddered at the thought. That one godforsaken place that had easily stolen so many years of his life. The place that single-handedly ruined his love for numbers, that had sapped his energy so thoroughly he could barely do anything but sleep and work. It was grueling.
Luckily, he wasn't there anymore. Well, not that he loved how things were right now, but at least he was self-sufficient. In this new world, he was able to make his way up until now. He could read, and write, and eat what he hunted. It wasn't as luxurious as he would hope for as of right now, but it was still better than being unable to develop himself.
Actually, ever since he reincarnated here, he had been getting more in touch with who he was again. He chose his new name and identity, though he felt it was a little rude towards his parents, and he also chose how to present himself. It was freeing. Mercury was no one but himself, unapologetically.
He had refused Yvette when she wanted to be in a higher position, simply because he remembered how much he hated that back when he was working for a company with a strict hierarchy. He easily confronted her, even though she was much more powerful. He put knight that were mocking him into place, and made friends that accepted and loved him for who he was.
They didn't try to change him too much, though he hadn't known them for too long. He missed them. He missed them all so much. Those friends he had made when he was being no one but himself, with every word he spoke. It was so rewarding to still be liked, to be wanted.
Of course, that didn't mean he was worthless now. People still cared about him, like Kintra for example. And he knew one of the wolves was alive, meaning that Cherry might have also made it, though he tried not to keep his hopes up. Mercury knew that people still cared about him, and he knew he cared about them back. Which is precisely why he had to save them, no matter where they were, no matter what exactly happened to them.
He was their king. They counted on him.
- - -
With renewed determination, Mercury stepped in front of the gates to Stormbraver. He had approached the city from the southern gate, and there was even a small queue in front of him. Most of the people looked fairly haggard. Farmers who were down on their luck, or maybe poor sods who had bet their all on the success of a frontier village, only to have been surprised by a poorly timed war.
It wasn't a great sight, all of them at their lowest, but it was better than seeing them dead. Most of them had desperation in their eyes, but there definitely were some that looked more angry or determined. They were going to get into this city, no matter what.
And get in they did. The city had a refugee quarter close to the wall, and partially outside it. Still, it was largely safe, especially as long as the war didn't progress this far. Of course, they would still have to work for their food, but at the very least, they would usually be able to find some scraps and have a roof over their heads.
It was better than nothing. In any case, with so many people wanting in, it took quite a while until Mercury got to the gate proper. Should I read this out? Yeah, this is pretty funny to be fair.
- - - - - - -
"Next!"
Leynn's shift was almost over. He had been at the gate since 5 in the morning, making sure the night shift got their sleep, and by now it was late afternoon. He was more than done.
"Please, step forward, next!" It was annoying. He had called out and yet there seemed to be a gap in the line. God damn it, people, we don't have all day. Get a move on.
"Sorry, down here."
Hm? Who said that? Leynn looked down for a moment and his eyes went wide. Same could easily be said for his shift partner, a newbie. Man had barely started on the job a page or so ago.
Well, that being said, had that mopaaw just spoken? No way, no way. It must be yesterday's drinks to be sure. He looked ahead again as he let out a sign, but just when he was about to say something, a thin sheet of crystal flew into his face.
"Who the-!"
"Sir, that's my godseeker license."
... what?
Leynn couldn't belive it for a moment, but he stifled his cursing as he picked up the card and checked it out.
{Mercury Rainfall Starlight
Tamer
E-Rank}
Leynn took a deep breath. He slowly put the license back into the backpack the mopaaw had brought from nowhere, making sure to count to ten in his head. Well, maybe not just counting, he might have hidden some curses in there as well.
Then, he sighed again.
Fuck it. Talking mopaaw, doesn't matter. Not his fucking problem. If it has a license, it gets to go in. He was sure his superiors would forgive him if the things caused problems. Maybe they would also forgive him waiving the toll fee, because he was sure the little furball didn't carry too much coin with him.
"Sir, is there anything wrong?"
"Sigh. Nothing, godseeker Starlight. Please, head right on in."
"Thank you, sir. I hope the day treats you well. Sorry for the inconvenience."
Just a few more hours of being a glorified checkpoint, Leynn. Just a few more hours.
- - - - - -
That went rather well, Mercury thought. He decided not to be any more rude to the guard than throwing his license, which he had an excuse for. No hands. The man seemed like he was far too tired to deal with anyone's shit, and honestly, their life was probably tough enough. Letting people in and out was probably rather thankless work.
Well, in any case, he had made it to Stormbraver at least. Now to find somewhere to stay. And a library. And a tracker of some kind.
He really had some exploring to do, huh.
- - - - - -
"Wilhelmia's out drinking again."
"Seriously, Oliva? Again? Damn it, why does she never invite me along?"
Oliva preferred living in a small but well outfitted room. It was a personal space, so they had to take care to keep it as such. They had paintings they liked hung on the walls, their folding bed in the corner, and their favourite lamp on the nightstand.
Well, the floor now.
"Maybe because you're so loud..."
"What was that?!"
"I said that maybe she doesn't invite you because of how loud you are, Eric."
The man pouted a little as he heard that. Sure, sometimes he yelled more than he talked, but he wasn't that bad, was he?
"It's not-! I'm-!!"
"Yes, yes, we know. It's not your fault. It's just who you are. You have tried everything to change it but you don't want you. We recognize that. But have you considered, that maybe locals can find you a little scary?"
Oliva glanced from the hulking man back down to their lamp. It had a long crack straight through the magical head. It was going to be bothersome to fix and would probably not be appreciated by anyone but them. Nevertheless, they liked the lamp, and would love to keep it.
"To the demons?"
"Yes, Eric. To the demons. Look in a mirror."
The man nonchalantly took one of the handheld ones from Oliva's room. They never minded too much as long as he left things intact. Maybe that cracking sound he'd heard was why they were annoyed?
He looked himself up and down, but he looked just as usual. Not any more or any less ugly than any other day.
Oliva let out a sigh behind him.
"Eric, that's not the point," they said slowly. "You're not ugly, at least not to other dryad's, but you're basically the opposite of those demon's. A spirit of life and growth. At least, that's how it goes for most of them."
Oliva slowly got up from their bed as they looked the man up and down again. His green, partially bark-like skin was rough and coarse most of the time, but soft like grass on his face. He had yellow eyes that seemed to shine in the dark, with pupils that looked like miniature, black suns. All of that was fine and good, but the man was truly terrifying.
Standing at 2.20 meters, he dwarved most other dryads. the bottom of his face was covered in a scraggly beard of bush, unkempt as the wilds he represented. Atop his long hair made from vines rested a crown of thorns and black roses, and the only thing covering his massive torso was a black leather jacket, partially wrapped in purple nightshade. The gap in its middle gave people ample view of his bark covered and muscular abs.
His baggy, leather pants were wrapped in leaves and ended in his boots made from shadewood, a substance that was usually said to be virtually unworkable, as well as an ingredient in many potent poisons. Yet, to the dryads, shadewood apparently felt more pleasant than any fur.
All in all, Eric was terrifying, and even more than that, terrifyingly careless. He never thought about "the flimsiness of your doors", as he liked to say it, and would regularly unhinge them, or smash them open at the very least. Sometimes he even forgot his height and hit his head on the ceiling. Well, maybe that was inadequate, it was usually more that the ceiling received his head.
The man was an embodiment of nature and its wrath, and although dryads were physically not nearly as strong as their wrathful bretheren, the leshen, this specific specimen was easily able to smash most things in his way.
Funnily enough, he was able to combine that with his sense of rhythm and make for a very good drummer.
"Hrmph."
"I know Eric. You can't help any of that. We all still love you, don't worry. Just ask Wilhelmia if she could take you along next time, you know she will. And the demons will get used to you, just like everyone else. Just be patient." Oliva gave the man a small smile and a light pat on the back as they set about picking up the few pieces of their lamp that split off, but before they could finish it, they heard bellowing laughter right next to her.
"WARARARARARA!!! Right as always! Thanks Oliva, always reliable!" And with another strong pat on Oliva's back, the man smashed the door to the room closed, landing the lamp right back on the ground in front of the guitarist.
"Sigh. Whelp, a little more work won't make a difference now."