[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have.
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
While this is my vote, I have to ask... @Tabula Rasa is this only way we could gain either of these abilities? Or can we develop them on our own as well?
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
While this is my vote, I have to ask... @Tabula Rasa is this only way we could gain either of these abilities? Or can we develop them on our own as well?
I am afraid that the voice will giving us information that is very vague. That means that it will be upto the thread to parse its meaning every time voice is triggered.
The riddle that we solved a few weeks ago has given me a taste as to what it is like. I am not sure that I want to go through that on a regular basis.
I don't think Voice will actually be that cryptic. If you look at the chapter, it's as succinct as it can be without giving any extra details.
It plainly tells her what the creatures she's fighting are and the centerpiece of the magical bonds was-well-the Centerpiece. The insight wasn't cryptic but direct.
Of course, I understand why you wouldn't was want to have parse through the meaning of the advice like a puzzle, but this is one case in which I don't think this'll be a double-edge sword the QM uses to trick us.
As for whether, these choices are mutually exclusive, I have the itching feeling they aren't because the ancestor had to use both of them in order to beat the Centerpiece.
I have a few questions about Alchemy and more specifically about the map, and another rand a few on how the In Search of New Spells/Potions work @Tabula Rasa
Child of the Stone bonuses Apply to training Alchemy or they don´t? And why Alchemical creation has a roll? (I thought that once we have finished the research the creation/brew action was an auto success)
Regarding the map, the Stage III, A Hogwarts Map action, this is both the research and creation of the map, or it is only the research part, and we would need to use a PA to actually create it?
It is going to be only of a map of Hogwarts and its terrains, or it is also going to include the ruins, the lake, and the forbidden forest?
If the map includes things like the ruins or the forest and we keep exploring them, are we going to update those sections of the map automatically or we will need actions?
And finally how specific we have to be with In Search of New Spells/Potions, and how many topics can we choose with a single action (i.e. If we voted In Search of New Spells: stupify, confringo and the Animagus ritual, would be a valid option)?
I have a few questions about Alchemy and more specifically about the map, and another rand a few on how the In Search of New Spells/Potions work @Tabula Rasa
Child of the Stone bonuses Apply to training Alchemy or they don´t? And why Alchemical creation has a roll? (I thought that once we have finished the research the creation/brew action was an auto success)
Regarding the map, the Stage III, A Hogwarts Map action, this is both the research and creation of the map, or it is only the research part, and we would need to use a PA to actually create it?
It is going to be only of a map of Hogwarts and its terrains, or it is also going to include the ruins, the lake, and the forbidden forest?
If the map includes things like the ruins or the forest and we keep exploring them, are we going to update those sections of the map automatically or we will need actions?
And finally how specific we have to be with In Search of New Spells/Potions, and how many topics can we choose with a single action (i.e. If we voted In Search of New Spells: stupify, confringo and the Animagus ritual, would be a valid option)?
1. No, they do not count on learning Alchemy. As the perk says, it goes to Research and Building. And there is a DC because it still is work for you to create something, even if you know how to do it.
2. It creates the map. The rest I don't want to answer.
3. You don't have to be specific. But one topic for one use of the action. I will provide spells for you accordingly (but I am free to give you as few or many as I see fit. Not trying to screw with you, though.)
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
No worries, I was simply curious. I had this thought of trying to develop Magic Sense several times when I was binging through this quest, but then I forgot about it and this reminded me.
Good decision on meta reasons. I know I have trouble avoiding them, so preventing temptation is a good thing, in my opinion.
Well, this vote seems pretty much decided already, hopefully we can get The Voice of Things down the line...
A small thing that we discussed a short while ago @Tabula Rasa , when Jacob realized that he could not keep Lumos active while casting another spell he realized that he needed to do it so he could explore safely...
But, since the extremely mundane yet effective option of "I would just pick up a lantern and use the wand with the other hand" never crossed Jacob´s mind, it is a consequence of him having a T in muggle studies? Or since Jacob is so focused in magic, it is a case of "when you only have a hammer..."? Or a mix of both?
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
You'd have to be nuts to pass up on what's basically magical synesthesia, I mean come on!
But, since the extremely mundane yet effective option of "I would just pick up a lantern and use the wand with the other hand" never crossed Jacob´s mind, it is a consequence of him having a T in muggle studies? Or since Jacob is so focused in magic, it is a case of "when you only have a hammer..."? Or a mix of both?
It's probably just because it would be awkward using it. Like, you can't really fight effectively when you are also holding a torch with the other hand, its a bit unwieldy. Where as if you can have Lumos going and cast other spells at the same time then you aren't fighting/exploring while at a disadvantage. I doubt it is a Muggle Studies thing and is just more of an "what is the most convenient and also wouldn't put me at a disadvantage if I get into a fight" sort of thing.
Edit: Like, holding a lantern in one hand and a wand in the other while exploring is just asking for trouble if you get attacked. I would expect a Jacob to have a malus of some sort if he got into that kind of encounter. It is just that if you are going to do some dangerous exploring you don't want to also have to carry a cumbersome item with you that may get in the way if things go south.
Edit2: Also, lanterns exist in the Wizarding World, so I don't think they would even fall under Muggle Studies. It's common knowledge. Most likely Jacob didn't really consider that solution because it would hamper his movements while exploring dangerous locations.
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have.
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have.
Vote closed. Update may come today, may not. Am pretty stressed at the moment, but I had a few things prewitten already, that only need to be worked over.
Sorry for a way slower update time guys, trying to put anything out to not grind to a halt.
Adhoc vote count started by POTDL on Oct 28, 2020 at 9:45 PM, finished with 109 posts and 65 votes.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have.
Vote closed. Update may come today, may not. Am pretty stressed at the moment, but I had a few things prewitten already, that only need to be worked over.
Sorry for a way slower update time guys, trying to put anything out to not grind to a halt.
Adhoc vote count started by POTDL on Oct 28, 2020 at 9:45 PM, finished with 109 posts and 65 votes.
[X] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
[X] Voice of things I – This is something that you can not explain, nor control. At times, you hear [sense] [feel] [taste] something that lays underneath the fabrics of reality. There is meaning hidden in it, but you do not know what it entails. Objects and beings alike can at times start this ability of yours and gift you insights that you would otherwise never have.
[ ] Magic Sense I – You remember feeling the magic of your brothers. There was warmth and familiarity. Underneath your senses there had been something else, waiting to wake. It would allow you to feel that, what is always around and inside you. You have felt Sally-Ann's magic once before, because it was so vibrant and powerful. Now, you will start your journey to develop your ability to sense all magic.
Present Date: Late Winter 5104 BC, Hills of Blood (Morning)
Current Weapon: Elm wood bow, Unicorn hair core
The realm shook when the giants ascended.
They were legends of old, immortal gods which were as rare as they were mighty. Where one was a force of nature; a hundred signified an end to the war. It meant an incoming total defeat.
The woman you had been just a night prior, would have frozen in fear at this very moment. She would have forfeited her bravery as doubt and a sense of helplessness took over her mind.
That woman, who had lived through twenty-six winters, had died in the Hills of Blood hours before. With the early morning's sunshine reaching her brown eyes, this new awoken woman knew that things had changed instead. She would now only come to a stop once she was forcefully dragged into the realms of the dead. This new woman who she had become, would fight until her bones had broken and her flesh was bloodless.
"Arrows!" You heard someone shout, but didn't feel the need to turn around to understand that the last of the arrows had been shot out hours ago. There was no hidden trump left, no resources you could call upon here. Defeat was sure.
You stabbed your spear forward one last time, before disengaging from the second row. A girl followed into the gap you were creating, raising her weapon against the enemy. For a moment, time froze again.
The hate you could see in her eyes was a weak masquerade for the tiredness behind her features. She was half your age, but you could see on her that she had spent the majority of this war fighting for her life. Bloody, dirty and with a deep slice that went from shoulder to elbow, she didn't look able, nor strong, but her wounds did not slow her down. The girl grabbed the spear with only her left hand and pushed it over the larger man in front of her, who was still holding strong as a shield-bearer, to then stab a weakened Troll.
You turned away from her as time continued on its usual path. What had once been an army, two thousand men wide, eight rows deep, with archers and stone-slingers behind; had been reduced to two single rows. None of your loyal shield-bearers that had stopped the first wave hours ago were still alive. The men and women that had fought by your side for years, those that had survived countless battles before, had fallen first into the night.
Soon the inexperienced had taken over, to sacrifice their life next. Row after row had the man behind taken over the dead in front, pulling spears, shields and swords out of dead hands as they climbed over the corpses of families and friends alike to then push against the enemy in their stead. Deep into the night, the children and elderly had taken over and somehow, they had been able to hold the lines as well. What they lacked in skill, they made up in courage and an animalistic drive to avenge and defend.
For this, it had been of outmost importance to hold the upper hill. It was the only thing that had kept you alive for this long. With this position, you had been able to turn a green meadow into a river of corpses, blood and mud. The attackers were thus slowed down by any fallen warrior. The longer the battle went on, the more trouble they had with the climb, making it possible for your progressively weakening troops to keep holding against them.
In the end, it had changed one more thing. Down the hill, the giants were finding it difficult to ascend, as the blood-muddied ground wasn't able to hold their weight.
A short grace of the heavens, because it didn't take long for one of the giants to push down the trunk he was carrying into the ground. With this added help, he was able to start climbing as first of the giants. You didn't need your Gift to foresee what was about to happen; soon, they would all learn from him, follow his guidance and climb to the top, were your warriors were still struggling for their lives.
Were it for only those creatures at the top, who you were already fighting, this battle would still have been a narrow one; but one that you might be able to win.
It was nothing short of a miracle that you had come this far.
Giants you could not hold off.
You were twelve winters old. Isaac was by your side, as you tried to focus your magic again. "Do not worry," he said with the kind voice he always used when addressing you. "Father can take him on his own. You are just here to support where you are able to."
You nodded. He didn't need to say that. There was nothing and no one stronger than Father … this was not about helping him, but about succeeding yourself. You focused on your breath and raised your bow into the air.
The giant before you was moving faster than his large frame should allow. His legs were carrying him fifteen human steps in just one movement.
Valentino was moving slower, but more elegantly. Sixteen winters of age, he was carrying the sword he and father had created four winters ago. While you were still waiting for your own magical weapon, he had become one with his sword. The blade started to glow as he jumped out of the trajectory of the giant and cut at his long leg.
The spilled blood awakened his sword. When Valentino moved again, he was suddenly faster than the giant.
You felt Isaac's hand on your shoulder. "Take a deep breath and focus your magic," he said, holding onto you for support. "Even without a core in your bow, you can still force the arrow into the path you need it to go. You are just as strong as us, you only need to realize that."
Right. Father had four children. It was time for the least of them to follow in his footsteps. You let go of the arrow … and it flew way past the giant's head, missing it by a wide margin.
The monster screamed suddenly. And as if reacting to the anguish, the sky around you moved as if in pain.
While Valentino was dancing between his large feet, you could see Antes jump directly into the giant's path just before he threw his arm forward. The spear in his hand flew shot out and gained speed in midair. The spear moved so fast that you could hear it cutting the air, before penetrating the hand the giant as if passing through skin only.
The giant saved himself by raising the hand in defense. It had been able to deflect the spear, which passed his head, instead of penetrating it thanks to this fast reaction.
The spear flew high into the air and almost disappeared out of sight, before it slowed down to then turn around midair and shot back into Antes' waiting hand.
A second scream followed that shook the air; this time not in annoyance but in pain. Seemingly falling into rage, the creature pushed his wounded hand forward and tried to crush Antes. While your oldest brother was now a man by rights, eighteen winters old, you could see that for a moment there was fear in his eyes. He had not anticipated the quick rate of adaption the giant was showing.
You screamed something, trying to get your brother to move, but he was not fast enough.
A moment before your brother was crushed by the attack, something hit him in the side. Antes was forcefully pushed out of harm's way, shortly before the giant's hand came crashing down. Blood splattered out of the giants wound, but your brother was safe as he fell safely onto the ground a dozen steps away.
"Boys," the voice said that now, many years later, you anguished to hear one last time. For such a happening, you would even forsake your magic. "A battle is fought with a clear tactic in mind. Your skills are for naught, if you don't envision a structured path to victory." His voice was a rough one, his expression hard, his features strong; but none of you had ever felt unloved or treated harshly by him. As your father let his outstretched hand drop to his side, which he had raised to push Antes out of the way, he turned to the giant. His long and grey hair fell back, attributing an age to him that had rarely been seen in someone of his upbringing.
"I have seen many a giant before," the Conqueror of Winter said, his bronze sword still in its sheath, dangling from his hip. He didn't feel the need to participate in this yet, saw this fight as one of many challenges for you and your siblings to overcome. "But never have I seen one that acted just like you do, ignoring harm and pain to commit to an attack."
The eyes of Edurne, Myth of Old, scanned the forest behind the giant. He was always calm, always calculating and thinking of things way beyond your understanding. To this day, your siblings and you tried to simulate this part of his personality. He was like a mountain, casting a shadow over the four of you that you could never hope to step out of.
"Ah," he then said, as a smile appeared on his face. You had rarely seen him smile outside of shared moments with your siblings and in combat.
"There is a child near," he said, turning to the giant again. "Yours I assume?"
The giant screamed in rage a third time as he closed the distance to your father.
Edurne finally moved again. His frame became two as he evaded the attack. A moment later, two became one again as your father came to a halt well behind the giant.
"Do not worry," he said, now looking at a specific spot in the forest again. "After my children best you, I will also dispose of the danger that is growing in your nest."
His smile was still there when he turned around to the giant.
"There will be no room for the wild in our land."
You were no child, had not been for a long time. Today it seemed, as if there were no children left anymore. Instead of wishing for your father to return from the dead, you moved. Five thousand men, women, elderly and children, who had earned the right to be called warriors, were still holding their own against five thousand creatures of the underworld, some still mostly Human, others now Goblin or Troll. There was no clever trick, no last tactic left for your troops to hold against a hundred giants in addition. The moment you moved, you knew that you would not live to see the sunset.
Remembering your fathers teaching, you started running, channeling your magic through your legs first to then jump into the air. You shot out over the second row, then past the first, before you used your spear to push down on a Troll that was advancing against the girl from before. The girl had left her spear behind and was now in the front, holding the shield. She would soon fall and make room for the next child. Her body would add another hindrance to the oncoming attackers and slow them down just a bit longer. Your heart ached in pain, but you did not hesitate.
The bronze tip of your spear cut into the Troll's shoulder. You pushed down on it until it hit bone and used the leverage to propell you further down the lines of enemies. When you touched the ground behind the third row of creatures, the earth under you gave away instantly, starting your slide down the hill.
Holding the spear with your left hand, you thrusted it to the left and into a goblin that had fallen onto the ground. Your spear hit his head as he tried to climb up. With that leverage, you pushed yourself to the right, allowing you to slide past the fortification and further down the hill.
Another goblin, still trying to climb up, was cut down by the dagger in your right hand. You pushed yourself back with a kick to his upper body to reach a troll on your right that was trying to get back on his feet as he saw you sliding down. You jumped onto his back, and thrusted your spear into his neck, before he had any chance to react; life gave out of him and he collapsed face first on the mud. A moment later his body started sliding back down as gravity caught a hold of him, this time with you standing on his back as you passed by one of the last goblins that was still trying to climb up the hill. This one you ignored as he was too far away from you.
The large back of the Troll's corpse you were standing on, gave you a sense of balance that had been missing earlier. You let the spear fall between your legs, holding onto it with your left foot, packed the dagger away and pulled the bow from your back.
You sensed your brothers somewhere to your right, as they started moving as well. Still linked as your minds were now, they had been able to feel you dash forward daringly. For the first time in your life, they were following you. They understood without words; you could not win this fight today, but there was still the possibility to make the enemy lose as well.
And without hesitation, your brothers followed you into assured death.
'I love all of you,' you told them as you raised your bow, after taking five arrows out of the quiver on your back. You clamped four of them between your other fingers, while guiding the first arrow to the bowstring. Breaking down one sword that could have been used by your men, had allowed you to produce twenty bronze tipped arrows. You would make sure to let every single one count.
When you crossed a third of the distance down to the foot of the hill, where the giants were trying to climb up, you shot out the first arrow. You had learned many a thing from Isaac and Valentino, but you had never before tried to use Antes' branch of magic before. This time you did – it came naturally to you.
Once the bronze tipped arrow left your bow there was a loud boom, your magic more potent than ever, pushing the arrow forward at a speed you could not follow. Only because you had been the one aiming it, you were able to see the giant, whose right eye exploded, as the arrow went into his skull to push through it and then leave it at the other side again. The giant kept climbing for a moment as if nothing had happened, before it finally collapsed and started twitching as his corpse slid back down, hindering those climbing up behind him.
A second arrow left your bow, and another giant collapsed. Then again and again. The fourth and fifth arrow were off, because the Troll under you slowed down as it caught a smaller corpse on its way to the foot of the hill. But from there on, every single arrow caused a giant to collapse. Once the monsters of the wild realized what was happening, they stopped their advance and tried to guard their heads with both arms instead; a strategy that was a success for them, from that moment on, you were able to seriously wound, but not kill any of them.
Soon, you reached the foot of the hill. You left the dead Troll behind and jumped on one of the humongous corpses. Fourteen giants were dead. Six shots had failed.
A moment after you landed on the dead giant, your wolf senses showed you a picture of blood and carnage. Channeling magic into your legs again, you made for a jump a moment before a trunk hit the corpse you had been standing on, splattering flesh, blood and bone through the air as the corpse exploded.
You didn't make for a stop, choosing to run past the giants, while you evaded their subsequent attacks. Your plan was a simple one; if you forced them to follow you, they would have to cancel their climb upwards. While you would never be as smart as Isaac, here you didn't need to be. You moved through their chaotic formation and kept running as a dozen giants turned for you. You ran and ran, trying to escape legs that were higher than most houses. Only when you were coming too close to the forces the enemy had left behind as a camp; did you turn on your heel and then to the right. The earth was shaking still, giants from your left flank on the hill following behind you, but you caught up to Valentino in time, who was retreating slower than you and using more of his time to cut away at the giants to keep them entertained and anger them. Even so, there were far more left following him than were left of yours. Where you had killed a near half of those climbing, his were still mostly alive.
"Father would have loved this," Valentino shouted out as he joined your sprint, still heading for the center of the enemy's formation.
"He would have scolded us for taking so long," you answered him.
Not too far away now, you could see Antes and Isaac running your way, nearly forty giants on their heels. As one, the four of you turned east and headed for the enemy camp again. The giants behind you were colliding against each other and slowed down, when the two groups met in the middle, before they were finally able to fully turn to follow you again.
Here and there you saw your brothers engaging the giants behind them, to keep them at your heels. Soon, you arrived at the very last reserves of the enemy. The camp was a rudimentary one, gathering the few resources they had brought with them. You were still not sure how they had fed such a large army. They had disregarded most things you knew about warfare, marching through night and winter. The only inkling to an answer you had was the circle of death you could make out on a small hill in the distance, where you had killed the Centerpiece hours earlier.
Shouting and screaming welcomed you into the camp. The enemies here were of a different kind than those you had fought on the hill before. Here, you could rarely detect a creature naked and with glyphs carved into their skin. Instead they were of clear human descend, all clothed and in rich leather equipment. These men and women were what were of real importance to the enemy, they were the resources that had been kept close, guarding the heart of their blood magics.
This was what you wanted to pull into death's grasp with you.
You turned your head around to look for the collars on the giants' necks. While the monsters had no glyphs carved into their bodies, you could see that they had been controlled by the glyphs on their collars instead.
What you had been asking yourself, though; how good was that control, now that the blood offerings had stopped?
Your instincts would prove correct. Enraged and hurt the giants chose to attack everything that was little once they reached the hidden reserves. And with that hell broke loose.
Present Date: Late Winter 5104 BC, Hills of Blood (Midday)
Current Weapon: Elm wood bow, Unicorn hair core
Your knee almost gave away. Only the support of Lobo, her long snout pushing against your left side, held you up on your feet. Terrible anguish struck your heart at the smell of burning flesh, you felt a dreadful ache as if something was being torn inside and you were dying, but you kept the body up that was leaning onto you.
Isaac was silent, even enduring all the agony that he must have felt in that moment, he carried his sorrows on his own still, not sharing his burden with the world. You did not stomach looking at his face. It had been burned into a mess without eyes. Nor did you look at the stump that had been his right arm, which you had burned into an unrecognizable mess of flesh and blood as well. This had been the only way to stop his bleeding.
You did not look at your older brother, instead, you held your tears in, grabbed Isaac tighter and pushed onward. One step … then another … then another.
'I feel very proud of you, Basques,' he said, without opening his mouth that was as much of a bloody mess as the rest of his body. Isaac would never talk again, never smell again and never see again. Still, he was not faltering, was too strong to even consider that. Even now, he was trying to comfort you, when you could not find the strength to comfort him.
'Not only I, Antes as well. We always knew that you were the greatest of father's children.'
You held on to your tears, not able to respond. Instead you pushed on as the bloody mud under your feet tried its best to bring you to a fall - but it couldn't do what twenty-five-thousand monsters and a hundred giants had not been able to.
'You were always the one challenging us from behind, scrapping away at our talents and making them yours.' Even in your mind, his voice was a calm and soothing one. He reminded you of father, a version of him without the anger that was hidden in his heart. Where the rest of you siblings were egoistical and vain, Isaac had always been empathetic and kind.
You passed by the center of the camp; the place where the doors of the underworld had opened, death had reigned and terror had raged. Here you had to pass by hundreds of corpses, dozens of them giants who had fallen around two corpses that lay in the middle of this carnage.
Here, Valentino and Antes had shown their valor and strength to all the realms. They had fought like fire and ice, cutting through the hordes of enemies, slaying monsters and giants alike. Today these two had reached heights even your father had never been able to climb. Between them more than fifty giants and a hundred creatures had fallen.
You stiffened and pushed on, didn't articulate what you saw to Isaac as you passed their corpses. Antes legs had been crushed by a trunk, when he had saved his younger brother. Even in the midst of dying, he had kept fighting until his heart finally gave up. Valentino's rage had blinded the world as he came down on the rest of them like an immortal being. He had become a legend of vengeance and war.
In the end … even his courage sheer unlimited strength and speed was futile. His corpse you found atop a giant's head, his arm deep inside the giant's eye as the monster bit through back and body of Valentino. Even with nothing more than his bare hands, he had not lost against the monster.
'Can you bring me to the sea?' The last of your brothers asked, when you left the camp behind. 'I would like to die by the water.'
You did not allow yourself to cry. Instead you pushed on. Like your warriors had done before. Through night and day.
One step after the other. You kept pushing and pushing. The Hill of Isaac that had been a glorious side before, was now nothing but a river dirt. Only when you heard the chirping of the birds return, did you realize that there was no movement left on the hill.
This day had seen no winner, only the realm of the dead had gotten its due toll.
Tens of thousands of corpses covered the hill like grass. It made the climbing difficult, so you were forced to push Isaac onto Lobo to make your way up.
The climb was a silent one, only disturbed by mud giving away below your feet. When you finally reached the upper hill and you turned north, Isaac was still breathing. Still, his posture was weakening. After Antes death, Valentino had been the oldest of you. Now it was Isaac who was the rightful liege. A Lord of mud and corpses.
You hugged your brother closer to you as you followed the hill to a cliff on the northside. A place where you had often found Isaac as he backed down to meditate in solitude and peace. There, you carefully put your brother down, taking care of making him rest against a tall tree. You watched him as you stepped back. A young, strong and beautiful man only a day prior, had now turned into a one-armed cripple, his face nothing but a burned mess, his mouth a mass of broken teeth and blood.
Even now, you held your tears back, as you looked at Isaac. The man that had hurt the most for the deaths you had caused in the many wars, a brother who had been always there, teaching and guiding you whenever he could. You looked at Isaac as he sat there, leaning back against the old tree, his face touched by the sun as he turned for the water down the cliff, which he was not able to see nor smell.
'Describe it to me,' he said. 'Please.'
And so, you spoke, because you wanted him to hear your voice a last time. You wanted him to know that you were close to him in his last moments.
"The sun is above us," you said, not able to produce the flowery language of Valentino. "The sky is blue, mostly. There are but a few clouds on the horizon. I see birds, circling spots in the ocean. The water is calm and waves are crashing against the cliff below us."
Your eyes kept track of what you had not shared with him. Your brother was going to die in peace and solitude. If there was one thing you could do for him, then it was this act of kindness. Tears welled up in your eyes, but you kept them back, not allowing yourself to be weak, when he needed you to be strong.
'I have never told you why I came here so regularly, now have I?'
You looked away from the sea and back at your brother, when he said that. "No, you haven't," you answered.
'That's because I didn't want to contrast fathers teaching,' he said with amusement in his tone. 'While father had made it his and our mission to cultivate these lands, I always asked myself what could lay behind this ocean. I dreamt of leaving this place and explore the Realms of Men, the Realms of the Heavens and the Realms of the Dead.'
"You are right. Father would not have liked those stray thoughts," you said. "His teachings were of the struggles of his father before him, how this was the only way for us humans to stay alive; that we needed to fight against the Wild and create our own place of freedom and prosperity."
Lobo walked up to your left, touching your side with her head as she looked at the ocean. She too had seen what you were hiding from your brother. You felt how tired and hurt she was, as you took time to caress her bloody fur with your hand. Lobo had been stronger than she had any right to be and certainly the reason why you were still alive.
'Yes, and that sentiment is not an unfounded one. To our knowledge there has never been any land grander than ours, any people better and more cultivated. But I always asked myself how we could know that. Father had never wandered far either, staying in this land his whole life as he freed it from creatures and monsters. I talked to him once about this, you know?'
The wind whipped against your face, reminding you of the many cuts on your body and bringing a familiar scent with it; it was only partly of salt and sea. The smell of decay and blood.
'He never knew where his father came from, where he had learned of the gifts that he and we were blessed with. Even father was simply a tool, following a direction someone else had given him before. Which is why I wanted to wait for you, Valentino and Antes to grow strong and then make my way out into the sea.'
You stepped closer to your brother and sat down next to him to let him feel your warmth, when he started shivering. At times he stopped talking as his consciousness wavered.
"Why haven't you done it, then?"
'Because the war started, when I was about to. Six years ago, I had boat and equipment ready – but you needed me here, so I stayed.'
While Isaac's mind was still sound, his body gave in; he lost balance and started falling to the side. You grabbed his uninjured left arm, giving him support and pushing him back against the tree behind him.
"I am sorry, that you didn't go. We should all just have taken our things and left. Nothing could have been more difficult than this."
There was a gurgling sound, then a coughing fit. You pushed Isaac forward to let the blood pour out of his mouth slowly. Teeth and flesh followed the stream of life that was leaving his body.
'I am not,' he said, making you look up at him in confusion. 'In the end, all of this has meaning. It is only for me to understand it at last. Basques, it was not me who was destined to go, but you.'
When it seemed as if the stream of blood was ebbing down, you pushed his body back against the tree.
"I do not have that drive, brother. I would burn the world down to see you and the others safe instead. I do not care for the realms."
'Then you are a fool, sister of mine. We are not the first to die, not even to the enemy we fought today. But here, you could be the first to see all the realms, travel the lands, discover the world.'
You caressed his arm, without answering him, instead looking onto the ocean.
'Would you do me a last favor?' Isaac asked after a moment of silence.
"I will. What do you ask of me?"
'What is it that you are seeing. Do not lie to me.'
Ah, again you had repeated mistakes of past. You had oftentimes thought of yourself as smarter than your brothers in your early youth, trying to trick Isaac with one or the other thing. It had never worked, not once. He was about to break the only thing you promised of hiding from him. You wanted to let him die in peace, without the trouble of knowledge.
"I see boats, fifty of them, travelling the ocean from the north. They are soon going to land on our coast, each ship bringing twenty of the creatures. It seems they had planned for an encirclement," you said, keeping your hand on his arm. "But our tactics saw to end the fight in as few hours as possible. So, I guess that didn't work out for them."
And so, you sat together in silence as both you and Lobo kept your eyes on the oncoming enemy. Not one of them had spotted your place high up on the cliffs, but even if they had, at this very moment, you did not care. Here you wanted to spent the time, accompany your brother in his last hours.
Exhausted and tired as you were, it took you longer to realize that something was changing. Only when the waves started crashing harder against the cliffs down below, did you finally notice the difference. The ocean had awakened, bobbing the small ships right and left as the waves grew in size. There were no winds or rains guiding the storm brewing in the water, no clouds calling for attention, but soon it was clear that the heavens had destined this part of the ocean to a reign of terror. The waves began to crash against the ships, moving them forth and pulling them back as if they were children's toys. The many creatures on board were clinging to anything they could grab on, trying to stay on board desperately.
Your brother, near death and a shadow of what he had once been began to shine bright to your other senses. A pressure was going out of his body. Like water, his magic leaked into the lands and the ocean below, pulsating with every heartbeat of his body. And soon, the waves grew bigger than they had any right to be on this shallow a water. The first ship to capsize was the one closest to your coast, then another one followed, then another and another until all fifty ships had been thrown against the cliffs or had been swallowed by the deeps of the water.
Your brother Isaac had no last words for you. One moment there was magic pulsating out of him, changing the world as if he was king amongst the realms, the other moment his heart had stopped. And with him the fifth Lord of your homeland died, the last of your brothers, making you the only living member of Edurne's children.
Only now, when you were alone in this world, when you had no people needing your guidance, no brother needing you to be strong for him and when you had become the liege of nothing, only know, did you allow yourself to cry.
Tears streamed down your face, while you watched the surviving creatures swim to the nearest land. Others tried to save a few of their ships. Goblins securing long ropes around capsized boats for the Troll's to drag out of the water.
You did not stop crying, when you climbed the hill down and when you made for a boat that had thrown its passengers over board to miraculously land undamaged and ready for travel near your resting place on the cliff.
Tears kept pouring out, even as you pushed the boat back into water with the help of Lobo. You ignored the creatures that tried to throw their spears and stones, when they saw you board the ship and push off the coast.
Under the sun and the blue sky, Basques - daughter of Edurne, sister of the valiant heroes of the Hills of Blood, Antes, Valentino and Isaac – cried openly for hours. Watching the cliff high up on the hill, where an old tree stood that kept the strongest man that had ever lived upright in a sitting position. You watched the cliff until it disappeared on the horizon as the wide ocean swallowed first the hill, then your homelands and then all realms of men.
For the first time in your life, twenty-six winters of age, the only survivor of a battle of tens of thousands … were you alone.
