by Edward Brody
I closed the magic book, stood, and fetched Of Reborns and Dragons. When I returned to the chair and opened it, I immediately noticed the difference in paper inside. It was a thicker paper than the other books I had encountered, and the scripted letters were written in a sharp, pointy, handwriting.
“Dragons are amongst the mightiest of all Ancient Beasts, and like all Ancient Beasts, it is unknown how they’ve come into this world. Some believe that they—like spirit gods—were summoned into Eden’s Gate, yet somehow were unable to cross back to the Otherworld.
Often, their teeth are dull, yet sometimes sharp as razors. Though sharpness of teeth matters not if you find yourself clenched in one’s jaws. The power of a dragon’s bite is enough to break a spine or sever the head of any man. A dragon’s claw can pierce through a steel chestpiece and find a man’s heart with ease.
The heat from the dragon fire of a fully-grown dragon is unimaginable—capable of melting iron and searing the skin off its enemies.
Dragons are intelligent beings—said to have spoken to their masters in a time when they had masters, and allowing only those they admired or feared to take control. Highly skilled individuals with the capability of dominating such a beast’s mind were also able to gain governance over dragons as well.”
Though captivating, I flipped the book a few pages to get a sampling of what else was inside.
“It is difficult to define the nature of Reborns. They are both something that cannot be killed, but something that can die as any other being. Upon death, they are reborn into the world as if they had never perished. Flesh is returned, and wounds are healed, and thus they are immortal. But this definition is circumstantial. It is said that when Reborns appear in Eden’s Gate, they can be killed, but only under circumstances that will not immediately be known to mortals.
Reborns can come in any shape or size and may appear as any race. To the naked eye, they will be no different to their mortal counterparts, though it is unknown if they will exhibit similar behaviors.”
I raised an eyebrow at the last paragraph. Reborns may appear as any race? That made absolutely no sense to me, since there was no option to select a race when entering Eden’s Gate. As far as I knew, all Reborns appeared in Eden’s Gate in a similar form as they were back on Earth, and they were all human. Had Dr. Winston or another Nexicon employee made a mistake in the writing? Perhaps there had been a prior plan to allow people to select any race upon entering the game? I wasn’t sure.
I flipped a few pages again.
“Reborns will appear from another world and should not be mistaken with the undead—those who have died and been restored by magic means. This necrophagic act requires a third-party intervention or spell per resurrection, and thus they cannot be considered a true immortal.
It is whispered amongst witches and other practitioners of dark arts that true immortality—similar to that of a Reborn—can be achieved through sacrifice and summoning of a spirit god. Like all awakenings, perusal will likely end in folly. The uncertain nature of dark arts makes pursuit of success in such matters a questionable outcome.”
I flipped again.
“Many intelligent beings, such as elves, can live long lives, giving them advantages that other races do not have. But elves and other long-lived creatures can always die and be killed. Even Ancient Beasts themselves can die. So thus, when Reborns arrive, they will hold an unforeseen amount of power over Eden’s Gate. They will change the world, and in some ways, can be considered gods.
It is unknown when the new immortals will arrive, but when Reborns appear, they will slowly shape Eden’s Gate. Future generations must learn to adapt to this new normal. They must learn to integrate with Reborns, destroy them, or live with them side by side—else live as pawns. Prophecy does not tell us if Reborns will be good or evil, but prophecy does state that the Ancient Beasts will breathe fire once again. This may be some indication of what is to come.”
I leaned back in my chair and creased my brow at what I was reading. I was still stuck on the crazy idea of a Reborn of another race, but I was also confused about the new idea that NPCs may somehow be able to become like Reborns. It further muddled the entire idea of an NPC. I had assumed NPCs would all die, and I would stay immortal—a good reason never to fall in love with an elf, I supposed. But if it were true, it almost completely eliminated the boundary between Reborns and NPCs.
NPCs could become like Reborns?
If true—incredible.
And what the hell was an ‘awakening’ and ‘spirit god’?
The loud clanging of a bell rang outside the tower. It drew my attention away from my thoughts, but I didn’t think much of it until I heard a muddled yell of, “Everyone get your homes prepared in case something happens!”
“Oh, don’t worry!” another man yelled. “It’s just another skirmish! They’ll never make it here!”
I stood from my chair as the bell continued clanging and started for the door to go inspect what was going on. I exited the room and headed up the stairs and towards the roof.
A chubby mage wearing a black robe and red belt rushed down the stairs and bumped into me as he tried to pass, forcing me close to the wall. He had pale skin, a soft face, and no hair on his face or head.
“Excuse—” The man paused and stared at me a moment before continuing. “Excuse me…”
I smirked at the man’s rudeness—not the accidental bumping but the blatant staring—before slowing starting back up the steps. Still, he wasn’t the first mage to stare at me as I navigated the Mages Hall. “No problem.” I ignored him and continued on.
After arriving at the top floor, I pushed open the trap door and climbed up to the roof. I was surprised to see Darion standing up there with his arms crossed, looking out over Highcastle.
“Hey…” I said as I emerged.
Darion glanced over his shoulder. “You’re not studying?”
“I heard the bell ringing and wanted to see what’s going on.”
Darion took a deep breath and turned his head to look in the direction of the Freelands. “Just a warning bell. Nothing to be alarmed about.”
I walked to stand beside him and placed a hand over my eyes to block the sunlight and get a good luck in the direction he was facing. “A warning bell?”
“The Scourge have launched an attack with one of their commanders,” he said.
“What? I thought the Highcastle soldiers were holding them at the mouth of the Wastelands.”
“They are,” Darion said. “And most skirmishes involve a single commander battle. But if the battle is heated, it’s customary to ring the bell to warn the people of Highcastle—just in case things actually spill over. It usually means nothing.”
“It happens often?” I asked.
“Not often. But people need to be warned to prepare just in case the worse happens. Generally, the Scourge will back off if they can’t break rank, but each time Ergoth gains leverage, a message is warning is relayed via the bell. I wouldn’t be concerned unless there’s at least two or three rings. No one expects it to come to that.”
I squinted hard, trying to look as far towards the mouth of the Wastelands as possible. There was a small amount of smoke rising from the area, but I couldn’t really see anything that far away. I let out a slight sigh and grinned. “Well, I hope it’s all good. If not, I might have to practice my magic on some orcs.”
Darion snorted.
“By the way, I was reading one of the books in the room. It said something about summoning a spirit god and awakening. I haven’t heard anyone ever talk about that before. What’s all that mean?”
Darion slowly dropped his arms and frowned. “I thought you were reading up on the different types of magic?”
I smiled nervously and thumbed the side of my chin. “Yeah… I was. I mean, I read a lot. I just saw the other book and wanted to learn more about dragons and Reborns, I guess.”
Darion sighed. “Did Eanos tell you why he left the Mages Guild?<
br />
I nodded.
He slowly scanned me up and down and clenched his teeth. “Well, I suppose you’re already immortal, so I doubt you’ll go down the same silly path his former students did, but…” He shook his head. “Just don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ve got a journey ahead of you before you’re at a level where any of that stuff matters. Let’s focus on the basics for now, okay?”
I exhaled and shrugged slightly. “Alright.” I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “It feels like I’m so far from yours and Eanos’ level.”
He patted me on the shoulder and chuckled. “Gunnar, if you’re going to deal with any of the stuff we’ve been talking about, you’ll get to a level Eanos and I can only dream of.”
Chapter Six
2/9/0001
I manifested at the runestone near the Edgewood mine after using my Recall Home spell. I had used the spell a couple times already, and while it saved me a lot of travel time, it was a little annoying that I had to walk from the runestone all the way down to Edgewood village.
There were a few dark elves marching away from the mines, carrying baskets filled with ore and valuable stones. Some of them were heading in the same direction as me—back towards the village—and a few of them were veering off at an angle towards the area where the dark elves congregated. I wondered if some of the dark elves had taken up crafting or what other use they had for the ore over there.
After the brisk walk through the forest, I found myself pushing into the clearing where our village stood. Customers were practically spilling out of our shop, and Aaron was near his home, cutting up pieces of leather. Rina was stretched out in a pose near our unlit fire pit, as if she were doing a sexy photo shoot. I was sure she wasn’t actually trying to look like a model, but she was attractive enough that she just gave off that vibe anytime she sat any way other than straight up—especially with a beautiful forest as her backdrop.
Aaron cleared his throat and sat his crafting tools down when he saw me. He gave a comedic bow as I stepped further near the center of our setup. “The great mage returns,” he said in a funny, regal voice.
“Pfft,” I spat. “Far from it.” I pointed towards his leather. “By the way, I noticed that you were a Journeyman on my manifest. I’m surprised you haven’t been bragging about it.”
“What?”
“Your title.”
Aaron stopped, and his face appeared as if he was focusing on something I couldn’t see. He lifted his finger and touched the air, so I was pretty sure he was interacting with his menus. “Oh! Hell yeah! I hadn’t even noticed.”
“How’d you not notice? It shows a pretty obvious message when you get a title.”
“Yeah, well, when you’re crafting you get a lot of status messages. “You’ve received this! You’ve gained this! You’ve received that! Sometimes I’m numb to the messages that show up on my screen.”
“Your screen?”
Aaron scrunched his nose. “My sight. You know what I mean. But sometimes it feels like a screen with status messages popping up in the corner. El-Oh-El”
“El-Oh-El?” I asked.
“Yeah, dawg.” He stuck his tongue out and wiggled it at me. “I’m totally El-Oh-Eling internally right now.”
I chuckled and shook my head at him. “Yeah, anyway. I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel like my vision is a screen too. It’s the odd way life and game mix together here.”
“How was your training?!” Rina shouted from where she was sitting.
I turned to her. “It went well! Got a few good gains. Where’s Jax and everyone else?”
“Jax took Trynzen hunting, and—”
“Someone’s talking about me, I see!” Jax yelled jovially as he stepped into the clearing. He had a roll of pelts on his shoulder and leaned to the side a bit from their weight.
Behind him, Trynzen limped forward, but stretched across his shoulders was a large animal—possibly a drope, but hard to tell since it was skinned already. Blood dripped from the carcass and down his body, soaking his fur. “Trynzen hunt! Bring food for eat!” he grunted.
I couldn’t help but notice that Trynzen was looking a bit healthier. He was still abnormally thin and hunched, but he had gained at least a few pounds since being out of prison. With a pair of leather shorts and leather vest, he didn’t look quite as beastly as he had when he’d arrived at the village, though he still was nowhere near a normal Barbaros.
“Need any help?” I asked.
“Trynzen hunt! Bring for eat!” he repeated.
Jax glanced at Trynzen and raised his eyebrows before looking over to me. “Nah, I think we’re okay.” He strode over to where Aaron was working and dumped the huge sack of pelts on the ground. “How’s that for you?”
Aaron smiled. “Thanks, dude. My leatherworking is almost good enough that I can make you something useful.”
“I look forward to it,” Jax said.
Trynzen hobbled up beside Jax and dropped the heavy carcass on top of the pelts, causing Aaron to jump back a bit. “For Sizzle! I kizzle!”
Aaron looked dumbstruck. “Ummm…”
Jax exhaled and groaned. “Not there, Trynzen. Move it near the fire, and we’ll cook it up later.”
“Fire?” Trynzen turned his head back and forth. “No fire. Trynzen not understand.”
Jax pointed towards the fire pit. “Where there’s usually a fire. Over near the pit. There’ll be fire there later.”
“Move to rock!” Trynzen said excitedly. He slightly jumped and turned at the same time before leaning and hoisting the carcass back onto his shoulders. As he carried the dead animal near the fire pit, he mumbled to himself. “Trynzen kill for food… help friend for eat... Trynzen have friend…”
Rina wasn’t particularly close to Trynzen as he passed, but she stood up and moved out of the way.
I walked closer to Jax. “Is he still behaving?”
Jax shrugged as he watched Trynzen sloppily drop the carcass near the fire pit. It landed halfway on a stone where people usually sat. “He’s hard to deal with sometimes, but I don’t think he means any harm.”
“I’ll get him back to Barbarosia as soon as possible,” I said. “I was planning on heading there tomorrow, but something is still going on near the Wastelands. An alert bell was signaled in Highcastle. Apparently, they’re launching more attacks.”
“Are they?” Jax shifted his jaw curiously. “Probably nothing to worry about. The Highcastle army should be able to hold them back before they spill too far into the Freelands. They always do.”
“So I’m told,” I said.
“Would be a good idea to let the troops know, though,” Jax added.
“Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. I looked over Jax’s shoulders where I saw Shal patrolling around the perimeter of our village. “Shal!” I shouted.
The dark elf jogged over to me and straightened his shoulders when he was close. “Gunnar.”
“Tell our guards to be on alert,” I ordered. “It’s unlikely, but make them aware of the potential for a Scourge attack. It’s probably nothing, but things are intensifying near the Wastelands.”
Shal didn’t question the command. He just nodded, turned, and sprinted towards the closest guard.
I turned again and scanned the clearing. “I assume Ozzy is training at the Fighters Guild, but where’s Keysia?”
Jax raised his chin and yelled, “Aaron!”
Aaron turned. “Sup, man?”
“Have you seen Keysia?”
Aaron shook his head. “Probably checking on her peeps. But hey…” He walked over to join us then focused his attention on me. “You mentioned to me before that you guys found some special metal in the serpent’s cave—the one where Keysia got Neshander.”
“Vorporite,” Jax said.
“Yeah,” Aaron affirmed. “I’m not sure if my crafting is high enough yet, but I’d like to try crafting with it.”
I nodded lightly. “Yeah, we really need to get to mining it. Whenever
Keysia turns up, tell her to wrangle up some dark elves to start mining it. Even if you can’t craft with it yet, we can sell or trade the ore.”
“Hmmm,” Aaron said, thumbing his chin. “Maybe I’ll go with them. We won’t have to worry about trading the elves for anything I mine on my own. I’m starting to get a little antsy hanging around here.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. That’s a good idea. You should get out.”
Jax looked up. “There’s not much light left in the sky. I’m going to go butcher the drope before it gets too dark. We’ll eat well tonight.”
I nodded. “I’m going to go work on my inscription a bit.”
“Alright, Mr. Mage,” Aaron said.
Jax smiled and scanned me up and down. “It’s still weird for me seeing you in that robe. I never pictured you as a member of the Mages Guild.”
“Nor did I,” I said. “But this is just one step in my journey—” I looked back and forth between Jax and Aaron. “—in all of our journeys. If the Old Ones were right, Dryden is coming, and soon we’ll have Ancient Beasts to worry about.”
“Don’t forget the Dark Hand,” Jax said with a frown.
Aaron raised his hands. “One thing at a time…”
I nodded. “I haven’t forgotten anything. And all that aside, I need to level up and train with the mages, so I can win the tier 2 championship in the Arena. I know for sure that Rachel is out there somewhere now.”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “As long as you’ve been here now, and with everything else going on, you’d think you would’ve given up on your little mission to find your girlfriend already.”
I didn’t even bother reminding him that it was my ‘ex’ girlfriend. “I can’t give up now that I know, but I’m heading everyone’s advice. Level first—chase later...”
“She’s out there and in all likelihood shacked up with someone new.” Aaron rattled his head and flung his arms out. “And how hot is this girl anyway?! You have Keysia right here in the village, or even that hot blonde one in the Vale!”
