World Keeper: Birth of a World

by Justin Miller

  I could only nod as I looked at the different diagrams she had laid out. Before she got carried away with her explanations, however, I wanted to cut in and ask something. “Then, how do you use multiple patterns for a single spell, like you did with that new fire spell earlier?”

  Hearing my question, Ryone’s smile only grew wider. As the two pieces of paper floating in the air fell down, three more rose up. These seemed to make up the same spell she had recently displayed for me. “That’s actually really easy. I’m not sure if it will stay true later on, but for this level of spell all you need to do is picture all three diagrams in your mind. Then, place them in any order you wish, as long as the ‘primary’ spell is placed last. From there, run your mana through each diagram in turn, before settling it on the final one.”

  “And… the controlling aspect? How does that work?” I glanced at the two unfamiliar diagrams.

  “Well… I haven’t had time to study the specifics on what makes them do what they do yet. But, from a practical standpoint, you are able to ‘feel’ the spell with your mind, as well as the options you have to work with.” After that, Ryone helplessly shrugged her shoulders. “That’s really the best that I can do to explain it. I’ll need more time to study and experiment in order to get detailed information.”

  I nodded my head again. From there, Ryone began to give me a much more detailed lesson on the various aspects of magic she had discovered. However, unlike Terra who had given me the spells directly, Ryone only gave me the individual pieces. Though, she did explain in as great of detail as she could what each piece meant, and how it could change depending on where it was placed in a diagram.

  To compare the two, Terra was having me dissect a complete puzzle to figure out where the pieces fit, whereas Ryone was giving me the pieces of the puzzle and explaining what to do with them. The two of them were teaching me in pretty much opposite directions, but I honestly found it easier to understand Ryone’s methods. Maybe that was because she was able to give me more direct help than Terra was, but it was easier to remember.

  I lost track of just how long I spent down there, but after we were done studying, we naturally spent some time ‘playing’. What? I hadn’t been able to have any fun with her or Terra since before we even gave Ryone her personality! Anyways, after that was done, I got what she had asked for to make the special enchantment.

  All in all, it was roughly a day or so before I was ready to get back to check on how the world was faring after the time skip. Judging by the information window, it had been roughly a hundred and fifty years since the last time I looked, and had only stopped because one of the alarms had triggered. Which, of course, meant that someone was about to get the short end of a very big stick.

  Tsunami detected, traveling towards inhabited continent.

  Sapients within path of tsunami: 1,390

  Yikes. Why did it have to be the elves… I wasn’t really playing favorites with my concern, but the elves were really the worst ones to get hit by a natural disaster. After all, they had the lowest population of any race. The problem was… how am I supposed to save them from a giant wave of death?

  Opening up the map, I saw that the aforementioned wave was only a couple miles out from the continent at the moment, but its scale was simply massive. In length, it had to be thousands of miles long, and at least five miles tall. If not for the fact that the southern tip of it was striking the northernmost area of the elves’ explored continent, it might still be bearable. But as things were, they had an hour at most before the wave breaks through the coast and reaches them.

  I was thankful that the elves hadn’t yet explored all the way to the coasts, otherwise the people in danger would be much greater. Still, I couldn’t help but send a mental page to Ryone, which likely came across more like a blaring alarm. At least, if her wincing appearance a moment later was any indication.

  “What’s going on, Dale? Also, you really need to practice thought transmitting. Oww…” She reached up and rubbed her head, as if it was hurting.

  “Sorry, but we’ve got an issue.” I moved my chair aside to let Ryone have a look at the screen, letting her see the situation with the tsunami.

  “Oh… wow… uhm… okay.” Her eyes went wide as she saw the massive wave frozen in time, heading towards her own people. “So, is there some special Keeper option you can use to make that go away? ‘Disaster be gone’ or something like that?”

  “Maybe? But, I was hoping we could do something different. Something less cheat-y?” For the first time, Ryone sent a rather fierce glare at me. Obviously, she didn’t like the idea of not sparing her people from an imminent disaster. “Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting we simply abandon them. Maybe warn the people that you can to get out of the way, first. After that… do you feel like showing off?”

  Ryone stared blankly at my question, before turning back to the screen. “You mean..?”

  “Well, you are the Goddess of Magic, after all. Do you have any spells that you could use to slow the tsunami down, just long enough for it to wear its energy out before it has the chance to reach them?”

  Ryone took a step back, and crossed her arms in front of her, lowering her head in thought. “Hmm… maybe. From what was explained to me, each god or goddess should have ‘near limitless’ ability in their domains. For Irena, that means she can do pretty much whatever she wants in the underworld. For me, that should mean that my mana pool should be practically unlimited if I descend. But, I haven’t really tested it out much, yet.”

  She seemed to be running a few different scenarios in her mind, before she looked at me and resolutely nodded her head. “Okay, I think I’ve got an idea. Give me a couple of minutes to prepare, and then you can restart the world.”

  * * *

  In the city of Hyren, several hundred elves came together to enjoy a fairly peaceful life. Monster attacks were few, and the air had a certain quality to it that couldn’t be enjoyed in other cities. Due to this, Hyren was one of the most populated elven cities, but it had also been one that hadn’t immediately recognized Gandor’s rule. This could not be entirely blamed on them, however, as they were several month’s travel away from the capital city.

  This seemed to be a normal day, when suddenly birds could be seen taking to the sky en masse. Animals and monsters alike panicked, going so far as to ignore the hunters to run in a particular direction. Many residents saw this as a bad omen, and were preparing to follow when a voice appeared in their minds.

  Do not flee. You will be safe within your walls. Though they had never heard this voice before, everyone knew who it belonged to. With the assurance of their goddess, nobody dared to leave the city.

  Soon, people could be seen scrambling towards Hyren’s walls, hoping to make it inside as quickly as possible. Anyone that had been out of the city for hunting, or farming, or even people that the residents had never seen before. Amidst the chaos, few people noticed a lone woman standing atop the walls, wearing a pure white dress.

  However, soon they noticed. Everyone in the city had their gaze drawn to that woman, as torrents of magical energy surged around her. Those particularly sensitive felt as if they were suffocating under the pressure of this power, while others questioned if such a level of power were even possible.

  As if in response to her power, the very ground itself shook in defiance. In the distance, a massive shadow covered the horizon, slowly growing larger as it approached them. At this time, a soft-spoken voice echoed mysteriously through the city, its origins clearly the same as the one that spoke into their minds a moment ago. “Stand behind me.”

  As the power surrounding the woman--no, the goddess, grew even stronger by the moment, so too did the impending shadow of destruction. Within moments, it had grown to a size that everyone could clearly make out what was causing the shadow. Water, on a scale that none of them had ever known.

  Raising a hand that seemed as if it would break from the slightest touch with that ever-growing wall of water, Ryo
ne released the power she had been storing. Part of it surrounded the city, forming into a translucent shield of light, while the rest shot towards the wave in scattered blasts. Explosions could be heard within the wave as her spells impacted, blowing sections of it back. Still, more and more could be seen as it drew closer.

  “Raw power won’t work, huh?” Barely anyone could hear the voice that sounded from the woman on the wall. “Guess we’re going to have to do this all at once.” Again, unimaginable power erupted from Ryone, far quicker than the previous spells.

  This time, when she released her spell, there was no explosion. There was only silence, as the encroaching wave had stopped in its tracks. As far as the eye could see, the towering wall of water had been frozen into a solid sheet of ice. However, that ice was still crashing towards them, albeit without much of the driving force it had before.

  As if to relieve their fears of being crushed to death by the wall of ice, it exploded into shrapnel a moment later. As the shards of ice rained down from above, they crashed into the shield of light protecting the city, shattering harmlessly and falling off to the side. Some people thought that the crisis might be over with this, but the shield remained standing.

  Minutes passed before they had their answer, more waves crashing towards them from every direction. Although these waves were far smaller, and carried far less force than the one that had terrified them previously, it was still enough to strike fear into their hearts. Thankfully, Ryone simply remained on the city wall, pouring more and more power into the shield to prevent it from collapsing.

  Soon, it seemed as if the entire city was underwater, the domed shield being the only thing between them and a quick death. This continued for several long minutes, before finally the water started to lower. When the waters around the city barely reached the elves’ ankles, the barrier disappeared, and some of that water poured in.

  Still, getting their feet wet was nothing compared to what would have happened had their goddess not appeared to protect them. Looking to the walls, people soon discovered that she had vanished without a single trace. Though she may have left quietly, her actions would be remembered forever.

  Chapter 56

  I let out a deep breath when I saw that the wave had been stopped. Although Ryone wasn’t able to save everyone, she still reduced the casualties by a lot. The rest were people that had been too far away from the city to get back in time, or those that did not listen to the warning. All in all, from over a thousand potential casualties, it had been reduced to just under a hundred.

  Just as I was internally celebrating getting through this without losing a large number of the elves, Ryone appeared back in the room, rubbing her head in annoyance. “Okay, that was harder than I thought. Was the result worth the headache?”

  I nodded my head to the goddess as she sat down on the nearby bed. “Aside from a few, you managed to protect everyone. But… do you guys even get headaches?” Companion physiology is not my strong suit, okay?

  Ryone raised an eyebrow at me when she heard my question. “That’s right. Though, I wasn’t sure either until just now. Maybe it’s something that only happens when we descend? Or it just needs me to push myself more to get one. Don’t know, don’t care, going to hide in a dark hole for the next hour or so. If there’s nothing major, don’t have anyone bother me.”

  “Alright… Oh, by the way, was going to have the next goddess awakened. Want to attend, or no?” I didn’t even get an answer as Ryone simply faded from view. Guess that’s a no, then.

  Well, at least this way nobody can claim I didn’t invite her. Next, I began sending out a page to the other gods, letting them all know what was going to happen. Or, I at least hoped that was what I was doing. Given Ryone’s previous interpretation of my attempt to page someone, I might just be setting off firecrackers in their mind. Either way, at least I’ll be getting their attention?

  Sure enough, a few moments later, a piece of paper appeared in front of me. It seemed to just materialize from thin air and land in my hand without a sound, and there were several words written on it. Given the complexity of what happened, and that Ryone was excluded from the group page, I figured that Terra had sent this.

  ‘ Until you learn how to do the mental messaging properly, use this. Just write what you want to tell us, and who you want it sent to. ’ I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or upset at this. On the bright side, this did make my job easier, but it was also just short of blatantly telling me that I was still a mental alarm.

  Nonetheless, I did write on the paper. ‘ Send to all gods but Ryone. ’ Did not want to take the risk that this paper could also work as a broadcast to the planet. That would be a fuck up of epic proportions. ‘ About to give Udona her personality. Anyone that wants to attend can meet in the living room. ’

  I waited for several long moments, unsure if the message had gone through. However, soon the ink seemed to seep down through the paper, forming more words on a separate line. ‘ Udona? Which one is that? The fox, wolf, or the bear? ’ Unfortunately, there was no real way for me to identify which one sent that message. So, I once again sent the message to all of them, letting them know that Udona was the Kitsune Goddess of Life and Entertainment.

  Now that I think about it, that might be a rather strange combination of domains. On the one hand, it implies that life is all about having fun. On the other, it encourages people to live life to the fullest, I guess? Either way, I folded up the piece of paper and put it in my pocket, then went to the living room.

  By the time I arrived, there were already a few people present. Once again, Bihena was there to watch the ceremony, as was Aurivy. To my surprise, Tubrock was also present. I had almost forgotten that we had already ‘woken’ him up after spending time with Ryone.

  Looking around, I gave the three a small smile. “Okay… So, going to do things a little differently with this one. I want everyone here to help me come up with the personality to give her. The only thing that I would insist on is some form of loyalty, so that there isn’t a bunch of drama that could divide the planet or anything like that. Agreed?”

  Bihena gave a small nod, sitting on the couch. Aurivy ran over to sit next to her, leaning against the taller woman. Given their appearances, it was almost possible to see the two of them as actual sisters, though there was quite the age gap for appearances. Surprisingly, Tubrock was the first to speak up. “Personality, ya say? What sorts of things can be used?” Given his honestly curious tone, it was likely that he either didn’t suspect or didn’t bother with the implication that his own personality would have been granted in the same way.

  Bihena glanced over to the dwarf in the corner, one hand reaching up to rest on Aurivy’s shoulder. “Anything within reason. As for my suggestion, why not use a filial bond? Although the rest of us may be a bit too different, but if she has the setting of Terra’s younger sister, it would make things easier without putting unwanted thoughts in her head.”

  After her came Aurivy, whose hand shot up quickly. “Ooh, ooh! Why don’t we make all the beastkin goddesses sisters? That could make things really interesting for their culture, if they know that their goddesses are all one family, right?!”

  Bihena looked at Aurivy, taken aback by the suggestion, but ultimately nodded her head in agreement. Turning to look at Tubrock, I saw him crossing his arms, seeming to give this some serious thought. “Aye, that could work, maybe? But as for the other stuff, no clue what should be given to this one. Ya said in your note that this one was the goddess of Life and Entertainment, yeah?”

  I nodded my head, waiting for him to continue. However, after a few moments, he simply shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “Got nothing to help ya with, then.” I’m not sure why I was expecting anything different. Tubrock was literally born yesterday, so he naturally wouldn’t have many opinions to offer on this.

  Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Bihena took the lead. “Why not just let the system decide, aside from the family bit?”

&nbs
p; I nodded my head lightly, pulling the paper back out. Summoning a pencil to write with, I sent a message to Terra. ‘ We decided to use the setting of the beastkin goddesses all being your sisters. That okay with you? ’ This was a rather major decision, and I didn’t want to go through with it without getting her approval.

  A few moments later, I got a message from Terra, verifying that she was alright with having more sisters. “Alright then, let’s bring her in.” Closing my eyes, I focused on moving Udona from the storage room to the living room.

  Her arrival was accompanied by a small popping noise, and when I opened my eyes I could see the golden haired kitsune standing in front of me. Like the last time I saw her, she was still wearing a dress of animal furs, her eyes still carrying that same vacant look. Her delicate features appeared very attractive, combined with her hourglass curves. Although her chest was smaller than Terra’s, it would still be the envy of many women back in the Earth I came from.