Yggdrasil is a small village of mercenaries located at the North-East in the kingdom of Ember in the Avalon Empire which is also located West in the Avalon Empire. The Asian continent itself has four major territories.
First is the Blackguard, an independent organization responsible for the protection of man-kind and whatnot, they have headquarters nearly everywhere and accept candidates from any part of the world, mainly humans but other races can be accepted as well, they are exclusive so not much info is known to the general public including myself (I personally don't plan on joining)
Located at the East and part North before the winter land border is the Avalon Empire. It is ruled by a temperamental empress who is known known for her shrewd mind and rare bloodline. The empire is split into 3 political rulers; The border kingdom of Morrow-wood located at the north and responsible for stopping any threats from the northern wasteland border, The multi-cultural party of New-England known for their craft-obsessed citizens with unusual towns and cities and of course, The mercenary country "Spriggan" where Yggdrasil is located, I don't know much about its political aspects but as a Layman it is said to the largest within the four powers in all of Asia.
Located at the West is the Ever Popular Starlight Metropolis, the major powerhouse whom alone monopolizes incredible technology, instead of towns, cities and villages it instead has districts. It is a singular large powerful nation which is often always xenophobic.
Located at the South is the holy Kingdom of Solus where the Pope resides, it is a religious country serving the Archangel Gabriel. Unlike Avalon it only has 3 inter-connecting cities.
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*Viagra: located South-East of Solus, since it is a city that rests on the shore of the Pacific Ocean current it serves as fishing revenue and a port called Castle port, if you don't want to go all the way to Geisha port located East of Avalon in a city named Zestra then it is best to follow here, the port of Geisha and Castle both lead to the Virgo continent however Castle ports initiate pit stops at cross pathed islands, specifically the island called Dawn-star which is one of the six continental islands.
*Porter: Another port city located South-West of Solus, however due to ice caps on the sea it is in fact open only in the late spring till end of summer, it takes you directly to the continent of Perceus.
*Solus: Generically the capital and main city, it stands at the front of the two cities and because of the starting point of motion between the 3 cities it sits on triangular leyline patterns, Porter and Solus are set straight apart thus huge horizontal walls were built from one city to the other in roughly 1,120km separating the holy kingdom from the wildlands, promote effect roads and is often a place adventures flock to testing their mettle in the wildlands.
Due to being in the south the climate is often warm and humid so rain falls moderately and it only ever snows in Porter in the winter, I myself have never gone there so rumors imply it is a land full of mountains and plateaus, dry and humid savannas, large caves, vicious monsters but also treasures, precious minerals and much more.
The Asian continent which is the largest is also on my opinion the most active.
Yggdrasil itself is a small town consisting of 1000 or slightly more individuals, a mercenary town surrounded by a small mountain range at its north, where I personally stay is below the top on stable lands, landslides and whatnot do happen but I often just use it to train. The town itself has walls protecting it at all sides with guards often some training guard duties to get good scores, though it is a mercenary town it has many number of people with other professions; Bakers, florist, lumberjacks, blacksmiths, alchemists and many more and because of the lack of corporations they always have business, the Mercenary/pseudo adventurers guild and merchants guild are the only two guilds here and mainly the reason for the merchants guild is due to the effectiveness of passage through here, the village has two gates, East and West. The East gates led to two roads dispersing East and North while the West gates led to two roads dispersing West and South, in fact the roads help to cross past the Illusionary forest which is slightly past the lower mountain range without directly crossing it, all in all I love this town, but also. I AM SOOO BORED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I feel so much better, stretching my legs and taking a walk around town left me with a brilliant smile, I decided to head to the market district,
"Ahh, Natalya. Long time I heard you were badly injured, are you alright" Mrs. Anna, she sells consumables.
"That was so long ago, I must have healed by then you know" I laugh in confidence.
"Hmm? Well that's true, but you should take it easy" She worriedly says, I nod.
"How are your kids, little Mary and Adam" I change the subject.
"Oh, they are fine. I hired a tutor to teach him academics and In a few years I can take Mary to the mercenary school, they are such bright children." She beams proudly, we both laugh, I strike a few more conversations before leaving,
"Wait, here." She stops me before handing me an apple, I attempt to refuse but she gives me those reprimanding glances, I unwillingly accept it, this pattern repeats itself with Mr. Bart the blacksmith, Miss Julia another retailer, Mr. Dan, aunty Edna and a few more. By the time I arrive at a bench near the fountain I am stockpiled with fruits, medicine and a sword, what do I do with all of this, I can't throw them away… then brunch it is. I take small bites of the apple till I finish and attempt to take another.
"Natalya??" I hear a familiar voice, ah man. I turn to see Joshua with his glasses wearing a casual blue shirt and shorts with sandals all straight from Starlight metropolis.
"Hello hello, what seems to be the problem" I politely ask.
"Wh-what are you doing here you should be in bed resting" He worriedly says,
"Been there done that' I scoff standing up and carrying my things with me.
"Hey, where are you going" he asks,
I shrug leaving, he follows.
"You know I can help you" He pulls out a spatial ring, I give an inward sigh.
'do you know how expensive a spatial ring is?' I ask, he nods.
'Then you should know that even if I work for a whole year only on high stakes missions I can't pay you back'
"I'm not giving it to you, I'm just helping you carry it, besides, when you left I finally managed to make my own, this is my very own product!!!" He beams with pride. I roll my eyes.
"Natalya"
"Yes?" I ask.
"Remember your debt?" He gleefully asks.
"Yes, now? Fine, what do you want"
"Well, it's a bit early but. Follow me" He grabs my belongings stuffing them into the ring before dashing away.
We arrive at his lodge which is basically a bungalow, inside is always un-kept but in a surprising orderly manner, an orderly mess if you will, mainly machine parts, sketches, tools and such, we arrive in his room.
"Here" he leads me to, I stand stunned.
"I-is that?" I ask in disbelief,
"Yes, it is your staff, Regna. The three weeks you were staying in the hospital I managed to repair it a bit, though the Destruction beam is still dis-functioned I managed to fix the magic shield, replace the batteries and fix the core, though I had to remove the magnetic effect and replace its inner wiring workings...…."
I start to hyperventilate, it comes back, flooding. The death match with the all-powerful crimson witch I had fought with all the amazing technology and weapons my friend gave me but it wasn't enough, nearly. My weapon had been smashed apart, my techniques did nothing to her, the missiles did nothing, my overdrive did nothing, my ultimate attack, the destruction beam that tears even the minotaur whom are powerful demonic beings, couldn't kill her, it had torn through her nearly indestructible shield and passed through her but did nothing to kill her, immediately regenerating, back then out of desperation I somehow unlocked a strange power but ever since then I couldn't use it, all the time I stayed in the hospital I kept having strange dreams about something… someone. I don't know. All I know is that power had probably saved me, I had been impaled throughout my body, even my lungs, I was at the brink of death. It was unbearable, so painful. I … I.
"-Natalya!!!!!" I shake out of my stupor.
"Are you sure you are alright, do we need to go to the hospital" He worriedly asks, His worried look touched my heart making it skip a beat, I turn in embarrassment.
"Yeah, I am." I nod, "Thank you Joshua" I express my gratitude, he turns away, face red. With courage I turn to stare at my weapon, Regna, it saved my hide uncountable number of times, so much so I started using it more than my soul weapon.
"You rebuilt it from scratch just for me?" I ask. He nods heavily.
"I know how much this weapon means to you so I spent the last three weeks fixing it up" He says shyly, I felt touched even more, but.
"It must have cost a fortune; you didn't have to"
"I would rather you stay alive, you mean much more to me than money" He says softly, "Go on, take it" He adds.
I take a good deep look at it stretching my hand to grab it, but.
"I- I can't" I look away.
"What, why. You don't have to pay me back it's…"
"No Joshua" I interrupt, "it's me. I, I rely too much on Regna. That battle made it clear to me" I realize.
"I don't get; we all need a weapon to save us from sticky situations sometimes" He argues.
"… Not anymore" I walk back to the door.
"Na-Natalya??" he follows.
"Joshua, I swear. I swear to get stronger and stronger until I limit break then keep getting even stronger, I'm gonna take things slow, revisit the basics, work on my constitution until I'm physically capable to make weapons an adversary and not a necessity." I stare up ahead with grit and determination. He sighs before nodding,
'So, what do I do with the weapon?" He asks.
"… that is up to you. It's yours now. I lost it when it broke to pieces in that battle, say Joshua"
'hmm?"
'How about we go to a restaurant, my treat" I offer.
I groaned in satisfaction slurping the last of my noodles. I brought down my third plate, I look at Joshua still on his first..
"Waitress, another bowl please" I order.
'coming!!' she replied. I glance at Joshua again.
'SO, Joshua, you don't have to eat if you're not hungry" I suggest. He shakes his head.
"You got this for me, I don't waste food" He takes another bite of his steak then switching to his salad.
'When was the last time you went to visit your parents?' I stare in suspicion, he freezes.
"A month" he shakenly replies. I grunt in dis-satisfaction and stare straight at him, he looks away. The food lands on the table, I dig in.
"You know, *slurp* your intelligent, smart, resourceful, so what if you have a less than favorable cluster. Joshua, your parents love you, they don't see you as an embarrassment, it's all in your head. I would do anything to see my parents again... so don't run away, you will regret it." I advise.
'… I can't" He admits.
"You are a coward Joshua" I bark at him. He slumps his head down.
"So, any new projects going on?" I change the subject. He shakes his head.
"well… I mean, it's still in its sketching phase" He softly speaks.
"Ease up lad, you won't get girls to fall for you with that attitude" I continue slurping my needles.
"I see…"
"Hey, what do you think of my outfit" I wiggle my brows. He stares at my yellow t-shirt and my brown jacket.
"It looks lovely" He says with satisfaction.
I frown, "NO, NO, No. listen, listen here. Women like men with intrigue, cunning, mysterious. If you just give me compliments whenever I want them how am I supposed to find you interesting" I gloat.
"OH, hmm. Ok. Your outfit looks terrible?" he says with uncertainty.
I stare at him in horror shifting away, he stares at me with a panic stricken face.
"Uh… it. I was just…" he stops because I ended up bursting, laughing loudly enough even those outside the pub could hear me, up to a full blown minute, I collapsed on my seat.
"Little Natty, you seem chipper today. Finally decided to sneak out of the hospital eh!!" A burly man at the near end table laughs. I stand leaving my seat.
'Shut up Bruno, how did you even know about it… who else does?' I question, almost everyone raises their hand.
"You stalking pedophiles going out of your way to monitor the activities of a 16 years old girl, might as well warn your wives that I might be stealing their husbands away from them" I gloat.
"With your charisma we should be scared they'd choose you over us" Bruno says laughing out loud, the customers and the rest of the onlookers follow. I shrug my shoulders then walk away, inwardly feeling anger and embarrassment. I drop some silver coins before storming out of the restaurant.
''Natalya" Joshua follows.
"Don't follow me, I have somewhere I need to be, just think about what I said, you can do it, even if you're scared, a lot of people are scared, you have your friend, your talent and brains, surpass your fears."
"I..." he stays silent.
"Sleep on it, thanks. For everything" with my final advice I dash away.
"See you soon Joshua!!!!" I shout and wave from a far distance, he waves back.
"Wait, you forgot your…..."
I arrive at the destination I was planning to go since today, I felt nervous. In front of me stood a large red tent with white stripes. I enter following the usual path before seeing the all familiar bead curtain, I pass through entering a highly cultural dedicated room drooped in red, in there sits a dark beautiful woman wearing a red Salwar kameez.
"Ahh, Natalya Dawn, welcome. i see you're in a... good mood." Aarya greets. I take a seat in front of her. We blankly stare at each other, I give an awkward cough. She grins amusedly bringing out a crystal orb from the box behind her, I shake my head, she puts it back.
"No" I stop her from bringing out the tarot cards.
"I want the real deal" I say resolute. Stunned for a bit she smiles, She brings her hand towards me, I gulp.
Aarya has the raw power of Procognition which is far stronger than my future vision, if i'm a 7 star cluster she is most definetly 9 or 10 (10 is peak cluster structure). She uses her cluster as a source of income, I only go to her for visions I can't decipher and unlike mine She is able to exclusively see the future. Then again, my actual power is my divine eyes, but there is nothing divine about it, I was 7 when i first unleashed my ability, but, it just would'nt grow. i always felt it was locked, it hurt when I use it even for a minute and it was useless in battle, that is what made me decide to perform a ritual and unlock a soul weapon at 13 with Master, and luckily I got foresight. But It was even harder to use, I...
"Natalya??" Aarya gives a perplexed look. Must have gotten lost in thought, need to stop doing that.
"Nothing, let's begin. But, be gentle" I squirm closing my eyes and holding her hands. It begins, something warm flows through me before flowing back towards her going in an endless, I begin to sweat excessively, my eyes turn white, I see nothing. Then I see.
A woman, the face of a Goddess, her figure, movements, everything about her seems otherworldy, beautiful black hair and colourful mesmorizing rainbow eyes, in a white gown, shackled with pink chains and cuffs on her hands and neck. She gives a sad sigh. She attempts to speak, no sounds emerge, I fail to understand, I attempt to read her lips, failure.
"Who are you!!!!" I exclaim. She seems to sigh before turning away, wha. Before I could call out to her it fades bringing me back to the tent's celling, I stare at her in shock, She stares at me in shock, we fall, I grab hold her landing on my feet.
"Oh, Wow, you have remarkable lower body strength" She compliments. I smile. 'Thank you"
She eargely stares at my forehead.
"What?" I imply.
"You had a strange symbol on your forehead... Never mind, also, put me down please" She says slightly embarrased.
I put her down, we arrange back the seats and sit down, she rubs my forehead for good measure.
"So, what happened, did the synergy fail" I ask, she strokes her chin contemplating. Synergy is a technique that involves two people with similar powers genetically combine their powers together to release a much stronger effect, in this case she used mine as a boost.
"I don't fully understand what happened but in any case, it worked. So, what do you want to know" She asks.
I gulp, nervous. "Did, did my brother live" I ask in a nervous tone.
.... She doesn't reply, I begin to panic, she suddenly giggles.
"Yes"
I sigh in relief before giving her an unpleasant glare.
'Don't be so mad, It was a harmless tease, still. Changing fate with basically 90% percent chance of it happening, I'm impressed" She says in admiration. I scratch my nose and give a smug grin.
"How does it work for you, in terms of accuracy over a far future" I ask.
"... The future is like a long endless splitting row of roads, I always try to narrow it down to those with the most probability, that is basically it." She gestures.
"Mine only allows me to see one and only close events at that" I grumble.
"Well except the vision on Derek's death, I still remember it, it was..."
"A story once told before, fighting a gaint evil monster with your brother and friends you never met then he gets killed by crim-crim witch etc, shall we move on, anything else?" She hastily interrupts.
I grumble, she is so rude!!
"So, what are the effects, what future took it's place" I randomly ask.
She stays silent. "I forgot to mention, by killing the witch girl you changed fate and saved your brother but changing fate is not always a good thing, something worse might take it's place" She says in a serious tone.
"Lay it straight on me" I propose.
"If you don't get strong enough you will die, people seem to be coming after you, some powerful magic is stopping me from seeing your death but I saw your path cut… Run! Hide! STAY clear of attention…" she advises. We stare silently.
"I'll think about it, for now. I will take far less missions."
She sighs. The atmosphere became morbid.
"How long do you plan on staying here, will you be leaving soon" I ask. She perks her brows. "Why do you ask" she says
"I plan on going on an extensive training, I don't wanna come here and hear you suddenly vanished" I answer.
She smiles before sighing "Tomorrow" she says in a low tone.
"What? Already!! Did you plan to leave without telling me" I shout being shocked by my own emotions.
"No, I knew you'd come today, besides. It's been a year now right? I wanna travel, see the world and earn even more money" She says with enthusiasm, mainly at money. How did she know that I? Right!, precognition.
"You know, this is the reason why you will keep moving, why do you keep selling your cluster" I ask.
"Well how else will I make a living" she says in matter that seems it should be obvious to everyone.
"You know….. You should make a request to the mercenary guild"
"Natalya.."
"I could escort you and make sure…."
"Na-talya"
"You're being chased right? Why won't you seek protection"
"Na-ta-lya"
"It's the seventh month already, Winter is almost here, travelling would…" Her sudden action stumps me, she grabs me pulling me close to her in a tight embrace.
"I never knew you were this affectionate about me, did my charms accidently work on you" she asks amused.
I turn away blushing. "That's not the point, stop…"
She grabs my head, her lips steadily moving towards me, I STAY petrified, inches from each other she suddenly release me uncontrollably giggling. Wha??
" Look at you, haha, how were so terrified. Don't worry I won't eat you up, you are such a greenhorn Natalya" she laughs uncontrollably. I clench my fists in embarrassment, how does she always get past my defences, I turn away grumbling.
"Guess I'll take my leave then" I drop 3 gold coins before leaving, she suddenly grabs my hand.
"What" I ask. She brings out her hand with a familiar gesture.
"Sigh, how much is it this time" I ask slightly frustrated.
"12" She states.
"12!!? Are you mad!!!" I exclaim. A single single gold coin can feed a family of 4 for a week.
"Due to extra strange circumstances and giving the highest future reading services possible plus it is my last service after all" she keeps on making excuses.
I sigh dejectedly giving her nine more. She smiles.
"Good luck on the journey, please don't die ok? Promise me" I plead.
She shrugs.
"Can you see your own death when you use your powers on yourself" I ask out of curiosity and concern.
She shrugs again. I Sigh finally leaving.
"Take care" I hear her softly whisper. I nod.
"You too"
My thoughts derail me, Something is fuzzy, I remember I saw someone, Something. I was in a white room, right? Who did I see, huh. A headache assaults me, I glance around, where am I even going, I bring out my amulet and check the time. 5:45, wow. 28 hours go by so much faster these days and it's already the 7th month. 3 more and another year has gone by, I feel the cold breeze rustle my hair. Oh yeah! The school closes at 6 right? That means I can see Derek!! At that instance I run at top speed, the thought of meeting my adorable little brother almost makes me drool, I control myself, for now.
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The school itself is on the North side of the village and is very large and wide as it is the only school in town, it has my buildings and sparing areas.
"Derek!!!!" I pounce at him pushing the rest aside, we brush cheek to cheek.
"Stop embarrassing me, wait till we get home" he struggles to break free. I hug him tighter smelling his hair, I always treasure these moments, I hear giggling around us, I scoff releasing him.
"How was school" I ask. He shrugs, "Normal, beat up a few people in duels, tested some poisons and all that" he halfheartedly says.
I nod repeatedly, "So proud"
"Good day sister Natalya"
"Mh"
I look to see HuiLing and her little sister Daiyu ( meaning wise jade and black jade respectively) HuiLing is a beautiful foreign girl straight from Perceus, she has beautiful dark eyes with hair tied in buns, she is number 6th in the schools mercenary ranking, her sister has similar features except her eyes are darker. They both wear thick overcoats.
{Name: HuiLing
Race: Human/Spirit. *Full Race*
Spirit: Lightning spirit, wields the power of lightning.
Spirit weapon: Spear of Lui Bing.
She always has a fake smile on her face for courtesy.
"What do you want" I question, she glances at her little sister, she moves forward.
"Derek Dawn, I wish for us to be mutually engaged" she speaks in a soft cute voice. I stand shocked.
"What are you implying" he asks with suspicion.
"I want us to go out, I and my relatives see you as a potential partner, but first we must… date to see our capability" she says in her cute voice, I glance at HuiLing for an explanation.
"It's in our customs to ask the recipients relatives for mutual engagement" she states factly.
"Speak in words I understand Hui" I gesture.
"You are his only relative, we are here to ask for your permission for them to… date" she says satisfied at her chosen words.
"Why here?" Derek asks.
"Your sister is… omni directional most of the time, she is very difficult to find and is always busy, plus your base is too far from ours thus waiting further might consequently make us miss her deadline, so when I saw her waiting behind the school gate I theorize and took action" she states factly.
I sigh, inwardly proud at my brother's ability to attract women and scared he might someday leave me to a pishposh princess.
"Not a chance" he states coldly.
"Isn't that too fast, you should take time…"
"No" he interrupts Hui. I look at the little girl, I notice a sad gleam.
"Derek…" I give him a look. He nods stepping back.
"Those are your customs, but these are mine, are you willing to listen" I ask, she nods.
"This matter does not concern you or I but them, if she likes him she should tell him, not me, I can't decide it for him, and Derek, let's leave this aside, for now." I glance at the evening sky. "Lets head home"
He nods.
"I see, thank you for your time, Elder Sister Natalya" she nods before leaving with her sister, I glance at the little one, she looks at me before looking away. Strange one those two. I and Derek go our own way.
I initiate conversation, "So, do you know that little girl?" I nudge at him.
"Yes, she is my sparing partner at times" he says.
"I see" I nod.
"Why does that girl call you Elder Sister" he asks, I shrug.
I stretch his hair, "you playboy you, stealing girls hearts at such an early age" I praise.
"Stop" he pushes my hand away, I suddenly stop, near the town's fountain, Anna sits on the bench. She looks at me and gives an impression of pure disgust.
"Hey Anna, what are you doing on the bench alone at this hour also why are you wearing such skimpy clothes" I ask.
"I dont have to tell you anything also I am wearing a sweater, how dare try to shame me" she growls. I shrug,
"Well enjoy" I continue walking,
"Hello Senior Anna, I apologize for my sister's rough behaviour" he apologizes before following me.
"Humph, at least your brother is cultured and mannered unlike a certain garlic girl I know" she taunts, I sigh, she just ruined a perfectly good day. I keep on walking until she is eventually out of and shot.
"You two make good friends" Derek suddenly says.
"What?" I say in shock. He doesn't explain himself.
"Left with friends like those who needs enemies" I say.
"No one really needs an enemy but everyone needs a friend" he states wisely.
"She isn't my friend, I was joking" I explain
"So am I" he explains as well.
I scratch his hair, he slaps my hand away.
"Aren't you even slightly curious why she is sitting there alone" he asks. We look each other in the eyes…..
"Derek, there are some things….. that are best left unexplored"
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Today was a very interactive day, meeting everyone and entering all these interesting occurrences makes me remember all these interesting people I might gloss over. I swing my legs over the large branch looking at the full blue moon shining silver light over the area with the stars stunningly beautiful mirage of colours. When winter fully comes the clouds become so clouded it blocks the moon's rays So I like to watch the scenery whenever I can, The Lunar moon(blue) on comes out every first half of a month, then for 10 days the Lunar moon(blue)appears, the two moons create a contrasting colour of purple then after those 10 days pass the Solar moon fades and the Lunar moon remains till the end of the month.
"Natalya" I look down to see my brother climbing up, he sits beside me.
"Whatcha up to" he nudges at me.
"Just staring at nature's beauty" I reply.
"Can I join?" He asks.
"Feel free" I laugh. We silently stare at the blossoming moon. He suddenly hugs my side's.
"Oh, what brought this on" I say hugging him back.
"Do you think mom and dad are watching us from beyond" he suddenly asks.
"I don't know but if they are, they would be happy to see us healthy and happy" I say enthusiastic.
So what do you want for your birthday" he suddenly asks once again.
"You" I smirk.
"I'm serious" he pouts. My birthday is the 29th day of the tenth month. Literally two days before next year as each Month except the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th have 30 days excluding the 5th which has 29.
I glance at my brother's pleading gaze, I flick his forehead.
"Ow" he complains. "You being there is more important to me than anything else but if you must, you can cook me the greatest noodles of all time and there must be garlic, also a delicious fruit salad and a smoothie, all made by you ok?"
He nods, his eyes blaze with determination, I laugh making more chatter until we feel asleep on the branch and dawn rose.
END OF VOLUME 1