The Blade Guardian

by Darren Hultberg Jr

  I fell to a knee as the Aether in me began to dissipate and my four familiars exited my body. Experience points showered me like falling leaves and a level increase notification appeared in my field of view, but I ignored it. I had nothing left... and neither did my sprites. We’d given everything, everything and more. But perhaps, today that would be enough...

  ><><

  My power was fleeting... moments ago I had a tempest of Aether churning inside of me and now I couldn’t even stand. I fell forward onto my stomach, the cool, stone ground offering me the tiniest bit of comfort as I gazed around, trying to gather my thoughts. The bodies of wolves and ravens lay scattered about the temple, the walls and floors painted crimson with battle.

  I tried to make an account of my companions... Hilda began to stir atop the cracked tomb, nursing a cut on the side of her head. Rhylor and Vic both sat huddled in a corner, Vic carefully applying wraps to the ranger’s battered arm. Ezry had unsteadily climbed back to her feet and began making her way to the refugees still huddled in the corner, her wraith familiar floating a few feet behind. She was trying to put up a strong front for them, but I could see the pain in her eyes that she so desperately tried to mask.

  And then my gaze fell onto my father.

  The man lay motionless on the floor in a pool of blood, his limbs outstretched and his health reticle noticeably absent. “No, no, no!” I yelled, using whatever I had left in me to crawl over to his side. His eyes were closed as I cradled the man’s head in my lap, stroking his hair as my tears dotted his cheek. “Damn you,” I whispered. “Why did you have to come here... why couldn’t you have stayed on Earth. You could’ve lived!”

  “Th-that w-wasn’t living,” my father responded, his eyes flickering open, to my complete and utter surprise. “My life... m-my life was nothing without you and your mother.” The man began to cough as blood pooled at the corners of his mouth.

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” I managed to choke out, no longer able to hold back my sobs. “I should’ve been there for you when Mom died... but I shut you out. Dad, I’m—”

  “Ssshhhh,” my father cooed, pressing a finger to my lips. “N-none of that matters, Adam. Y-you need to look forward now. Remember our time here together, son.... don’t let this weigh you down, like it did to me… Son… c-carry me in your heart.”

  My father’s eyelids slowly fell shut as his last breath escaped his lips. Tears continued to stream from my face as I ran my thumb across his cheek. Despite everything, lying there he seemed so sturdy and strong, the way a father is meant to look to his son.

  “Dad,” I cooed, my voice barely more than a whisper. He was gone but I couldn’t remove myself from his side. I wasn’t sure that I ever could. How? How could I just...

  “Zan...” Hilda’s soft voice reached my ears as her hand gently gripped my shoulder. “I love you, Zan.”

  I turned, rising to my feet and embracing the woman in a tight hug, burying my head into her shoulder as a cold wind blew into the chamber.

  ><><

  Moments passed as we gathered at the chamber’s entrance, preparing to take leave of the now-ravaged temple. The bodies of the fallen, including my father, were wrapped tightly in cloaks and loaded onto the caravan for a proper burial. The wolves were gentle… Unlike the ravens, they treated each body with the care and respect it deserved. They were also eternally patient with me, allowing me to help with the wrappings and giving me the time to grieve as I looked upon my father’s face for the final time.

  “Zan,” Hilda said, waving me back over to the temple’s center. “Help me with this.” The woman had two hands on the lid of the cracked sarcophagus as she strained to yank it open. It was clear she had noticed a lull in my grief and was doing her best to help offer me a distraction. Dammit all, I loved that woman.

  “What are you doing?” I asked passively. “I’m no mood to do any more exploring.”

  “We need to get this open... it’s the entire reason we came here.”

  I sighed as I took the woman’s side and grabbed onto the lid. “There are a lot of reasons we came here... and even more consequences.”

  Hilda grew quiet for a second, then took a step closer so that I could feel her in my presence and then resumed pulling. Stone scraped on stone as the cracked lid eventually slid away from the tomb and a cloud of bluish smoke rose into the air.

  The dust settled, and we peered into the tomb, eyes wide as we inspected its contents. I wasn’t sure what I expected to see, perhaps a mummified body or an ancient weapon... but no. Lying inside of the tomb was... a Sprite?

  The creature rose out of the haze, its gaze locked on me as it exited the tomb. The creature’s body resembled that of a woman, its form wrapped in blue silken fabrics that covered nearly every inch of its frame. A pair of sapphire orbs rested above the fabric’s edge, eyes that were seeing the world anew.

  Suddenly, the sprite rose as beautiful, angelic wings spread from its body, giving it this aura of omnipotence as it floated to my side.

  Titania

  Divinity Sprite

  The sprite studied me in silence before finally placing a hand on my chest, willing a veil of blue light to wrap around my form. A sudden sense of clarity came flooding in as a new, profound feeling entered my body. Suddenly, the character menu in the corner of my vision began to illuminate, the letters crackling like lightning. I opened the menu, dropping down my character sheet as a notification appeared in front of my face.

  Prestige class path available:

  Path of the Azure Warden

  Epilogue

  Side Quests 2

  “Are you sure this is the right way?” Brenton asked, more than a bit of annoyance in his voice as he peered out over the distance. “If my calculations are correct, then we’ve likely overshot the city by miles.”

  “Brenton,” Helena replied. “Please… shut up.”

  The pair had set out for Lorethain days ago with a group of sprite-wielding refugees at their back. Brenton was quite sure he knew the way… 99.8% sure to be exact. Unfortunately, he was traveling with Helena, and arguing with her was not a headache he cared for at the moment.

  The sizable group began to crest one of the many ridges of the hilly terrain when Helena came to an abrupt halt, bringing the others to a stop. “Did you see that, Brent?”

  “I… uh, don’t think so,” he replied, pressing his spectacles higher onto his nose. “What is it exactly that I did not see?”

  Suddenly, a bright flash of azure light poured out of the valley amongst the hills, grabbing the attention of the runecaster as he joined Helena on the ridge. He inspected the valley for several seconds, studying a strange, pointed structure that seemed to rest at the valley’s very center. “What is that?”

  Helena grinned as people began to emerge from the structure, including some familiar faces that she hadn’t seen in far too long… the faces of a slayer and a guardian that she was all too happy to see. “Home…” she replied, eyeing the companions that she so sorely missed, people that had oddly grown on her like none others in her life before. “Looks like home.”

  ><><

  Vexes sat quietly in his chambers, his hand clasped onto an azure orb as he drank of the Aether recently drained from some poor soul’s sprite. The Aether bolstered his power, giving him strength that he could absorb into his body or channel into his world breaker if he so chose.

  Suddenly the door to his chamber swung open as a young, black-haired girl entered the room.

  Elekys

  Siege Asura

  “Ah, my daughter…” Vexes replied, eyeing the woman as she strolled in and took a seat in front of him. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  Elekys sighed, running her childlike hands through her silky hair. “Morose has fallen, father… slain by your first apprentice.”

  Vexes nodded, showing no remorse for the now-dead assassin. “And the sieges?”

  “Lorethain lays in waste, father. Yggrash will be soon to follow… then Stor
mgard.”

  “Good,” Vexes replied as Aerodonulaus wrapped himself around the Asuran’s arm, curling into his free hand. The ancient sprite had submitted to its master… they always did. “I see guild recruitment has increased exponentially.”

  “That’s correct, father. We’ve widened our recruitment efforts tenfold. Despite the small amount of prisoners lost this sun cycle, we’ve more than made up for it with able-bodied sprite wielders. Soon, you will have an unlimited source of renewable Aether ready at your disposal.”

  “Excellent,” Vexes replied, rising from his seat. “And what of the mad?”

  Elekys grinned wickedly. “The maddened are nearly conditioned and ready to be unleashed upon the realm, father, should you need them. From what I’ve witnessed, they could prove to be quite the army of darkness.”

  “Just as we planned, my daughter. Now go, prepare our forces. I want the ravens to be the only guild left when the dust settles.”

  The young woman frowned. “But what of the slayer. It appears that he—”

  “Don’t worry yourself with Darkblade,” Vexes interjected. “If he’s as much of a threat as you give him credit for, then he’ll come for me… and when he does, I’ll make sure I annihilate him. I’ll break his soul right before I break this world.”

  The world of Aether Gate Online

  Aether- Aether is the ultimate source of power in the realm of Aetheria. The substance feeds off tiny pieces of lifeforce from the realm’s inhabitants, using that energy to fuel the planet itself. In return, those who wield the Aether are granted mighty powers and unique abilities they could not otherwise possess. Aether is also the basis for all magickk in Aetheria. When Aether is absorbed into a person’s body, the substance is converted into a usable energy known as mana. That mana can then be invoked to create powerful spells and abilities.

  Aether was nearly extinguished from Aetheria when the gods of the realm were slain. Luckily, a lone traveler, Corbin Castermire, was able to find a way to funnel life forms back into the realm. As the new life forms entered Aetheria, the realm was granted a new lease on life and quickly returned to its former glory.

  Sprites- Sprites are living physical manifestations of Aether. They often take the form of creatures or things that they observe in their surroundings, though their characteristics vary depending on what kind of sprite they are.

  Some sprites form bonds with the intelligent creatures of Aetheria, thus becoming familiars. These familiars grant their partners powerful abilities, along with a boost in their associated attributes. For example, Valor sprites grant boosts to strength and dexterity, while Umbra sprites (which spawn from the mysterious dark Aether) grant boosts to wisdom and constitution. Nature sprites are unique in that they allow the user to perform minor feats of shapeshifting, otherwise known as an aspect. Some travelers have even managed to bond several sprites at once, giving them near-superhuman abilities. This rare sect of travelers came to be known as the azure wardens.

  Classes- Classes are the unique jobs that travelers of Aetheria take. They are divided into three main domains: combat, magickkal, and primal. The combat domain focuses on classes that specialize in physical, hand-to-hand combat. The guardian, warrior, dragoon, and slayer are all examples of combat classes. The magickkal domain encompasses classes that focus on spellcasting, such as warlocks, mages, mystics and shadowmancers. Lastly, the primal domain is centered on classes that evoke the powers of nature, such as the shaman, beastmaster and druid. Upon reaching a certain level, each and any of the classes can take a specialization, thus becoming a prestige class.

  There is also a 4th domain of classes in Aetheria, the non-combative sect of classes known as professions. These classes are obtained through training and apprenticeship, and include things such as blacksmithing and tailoring.

  Skills- Spells and abilities invoked by travelers of Aetheria. Skills are limited depending on the user’s power level and class.

  Attributes- Characteristics that represent a traveler’s physical, mental, and magickkal prowess. These include strength, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, constitution and charisma.

  Mounts- Rideable creatures in Aetheria.

  Guilds- Formations of people that come together under a single banner to perform tasks and reach goals. There are four primary guilds in Aetheria: Drakengard, The Iron Wolves, The Tidecallers, and Ravenflight. Although these guilds currently dominate, anyone with the right resources can form a guild of their own.

  Sprite Houses

  Nobility House

  -Noble familiars

  -Valor familiars

  -Sanctuary familiars

  Earthen House

  -Nature familiars

  -Water familiars

  -Insectoid familiars

  Dark House

  -Umbra familiars

  -Exodus familiars

  Wraith familiars

  Ancient House

  -Ancient familiars

  -Dragon familiars

  -Divinity familiars

  Known hybrids: Steel familiars

  Other Books by Darren Hultberg Jr

  -The Ashverse -

  (Books contained in the Ashadar Universe)

  The Realmbound Saga

  Realmbound: Sword of the Scion

  amazon.com/dp/B077WWP458

  Realmbound: Sword of the Void

  amazon.com/dp/B07BPFPQJ2

  Realmbound: War of the Realms (coming soon!)

  Aether Gate Online (A litRPG Saga)

  The Slayer

  amazon.com/dp/B07DV6Y571

  The Blade Guardian

  The Azure Warden (coming soon!)

  -Other Series-

  The Heroes Rising Series

  Hero Hunter

  amazon.com/dp/B07GW2Z3YD

  About the Author

  Darren is the Amazon bestselling author of THE SLAYER, the superhero saga HEROES RISING, and the post-apocalyptic fantasy series REALMBOUND.

  Embarking on adventures in strange and unfamiliar worlds at an early age, Darren has been heavily involved in the worlds of comic books, anime, science fiction, and especially high fantasy.

  As he grew older, Darren attended community college in 2008, graduating with a degree in childhood education. Later he decided to follow his passion and pursue his dream of writing. He currently resides in Florida with his wife and two children.

  Follow me on social media!

  facebook.com/realmbound

  Instagram: Author_DarrenHultberg

  Visit my site!

  realmbound.wordpress.com

  To hang out with other fans, authors, and be the first to learn about all things new in the world of litRPG, check out the litRPG Forum

  To learn more about litRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the litRPG GROUP

  To find out more about Gamelit and interact with other authors and fans, checkout the facebook group GAMELIT SOCIETY

  Zander Darkblade will return…