Glimmer, A Throne of Souls (Convergence Book 1)

by Stephen Landry

  He was hunting a fellow Hunter. So long had the people of Arcadia been prey. Ethan was ready to turn the tables and he just had to drag me into it. He could remember the urgent quest he was given; that Deep Infantry was given, actually. Even the hub was made known of this severe threat, and they rarely resorted to drastic measures. Rumor had it that a group called the five had been sent to the valley. Maybe if we were lucky we could join with them. I needed scrip bad. The few things I had were valuable but from what's Ethan had told me it would be 1000 scrip for passage to the hub. I had maybe 100 worth of junk minus another 50 for Bendi's rifle and maybe my cursed sword, Vesta Anoron. The Devils Sabre would have been worth more, maybe even half but it was serving its own purpose.

  Thus, we came to a stall. Standing at the end of the path, to what looked like an abandoned village. It wasn’t named. It wasn’t on the map. We were nearing the Deadlands. Maybe a few days away. This was near where Blackwall was supposed to be located…south of this village and some unnamed caverns. Blackwall would be a safe place. At least it was suppose to be. This village was questionable. Ethan pulled his sword off his back and started walking; I could see he had wrapped his arms just in case something popped out at him and tried to kill him he would use magic. We were walking through the town, Ethan was able to see and realize this place had to have been desolate for at least a decade…no bodies, no bones. Not even the dead. It had been picked clean.

  We did see a few strange birds and a couple fleshlings flying around, they scattered the second I took aim and fired into the air. We continued our trek through the ghost town…until we came across a cavern; untouched by time and ancient judging from the stalagmites in it. We continued to walk, descending into the cave; we had to explore. It was too close to the village for there not to be any answers. Ethan used his magic to create a wisp of light that flew around us lighting our way. Deep breathing finally ringing in our ears…like a large creature was resting.

  We weren't alone. Were we ever. Ever since I woke up I felt like I was being watched. Some kind of experiment being observed.

  The end of the cave came before us and we went still when he saw what was making those low growls; a giant snake dragon. The winged beast had deep yellow scales with orange flecks at the tip of each of tail with two iconic horns across its forehead. What the hell did it need that horn for I wondered. It's scales all lowered as an indication that the beast was asleep. Bendi pointed out an interesting quirk with this one, where it should have vivid red or ebony scales across its stomach, it instead had deep sage colored ones...something that made this one rare. Its torso rose and fell, tail curled up; the snake dragon twitched every so often; the beast's claws curling and uncurling. Then it woke. I grit my teeth and prepared to fire, hoping and praying the wyverns demise would be swift and it wasn't as menacing as it looked.

  "Garrick, stop." An aged, weathered voice called out from the light of the cavern's entrance, and astonishingly the wyvern complied; lowering down its wings and backing away slithering into the corner giving us the chance to back up and stand over to the one who had somehow saved our lives.

  The one who stood there stepping out from the shadows was taller than me by almost a foot, with broad shoulders and a muscled look. He was at least 7 feet tall with a bald head and a reddish brown beard. He wore armor fashioned from a old combat gear no doubt, but blackened and with red lines along it, covering his entire body and giving not an inch of what he looked like without it; the armor caked with slashes and scratches to indicate it was almost as old as time. On his back rested a sheathed Charge Blade, fashioned from Shektah scales. Damage 50, weight 10. What level was this guy? He also carried with him a charged rifle; simple yet dangerous. On the ground beside him sat a wide rectangular case. He looked like he stepped straight out of a god damn space opera. Its insane that this old man had somehow commanded this beast.

  "Do you have any idea what a individual goes through when named Croon? I'm going to go with a resounding no. Why? Because I am the only one with the name Croon. And let me tell you...it is one hell of a name. People think its funny to ask me what it is like lowering their voice. Croon, yes, the name of a bard, God, I hate my name. I can't stand the others my age in all of Arcadia. The only friend I have is the witch.and she is about as eccentric as you get so I don't even get to see her that often because she always has her head stuffed in a book or neck high in tech with her newest invention or rather reinvention of something old. Seems tech breaks down pretty damn fast in this world so if you have it sell it, sell it fast,"

  This was trippy as all hell. The bard than opened the case and took out an 8 string guitar. He places his rifle down on a rock and starred at Garrick, the wyvern meticulously only to start playing.

  "So what do I do? I hunt monsters to keep Eda relatively monster free. Believe me there is no shortage of them either. But, because of how physically demanding a job like that tended to be, I found it really hard to wake up in the morning. So I stopped hunting and began playing. I found ways to tame a great number of the beasts like Garrick here. None daemonic of course, doesn't seem to work well on them, found this gem in storage inside Sanctuary. Seems the ship was full of artists, musicians, barbers and craftsman alike. All the making of a civilized society, the hub too. God damn that town is full of it. 10 scrip for a trim, 100 for some fancy clothes,” he said slowly beginning to hum, "don't get me wrong I still hunt monsters but some of them... Garrick I have grown attached to," he smiled.

  As if on cue the smell of bacon and toast seemed to make its way to my nose...naturally my stomach reacted to this and beckoned me to buy whatever Croon was selling.

  "Alright, alright..." I grumbled as I stumbled onto my feet, but nearly lost my balance back up. "Damn you stomach." I always feel surprised when I hear live music..but it is always such a beautiful sound. The bard played for another half an hour before pulling some rations out from a secret compartment inside his bag. The source of the smell. Something that looked just like bacon. Ethan set up a campfire and we sat around it in a circle together. Garrick stayed tucked away in the corner sleeping. Croon assured us he was perfectly safe. Occasionally Bendi would walk over towards the creature and it would wake and the two would stare eyes locked like they were having a conversation.

  "Here you go...make sure you get plenty to eat. Ariane has her big unveiling of her newest invention later at Blackwall. That is why you are here, right?"

  "Ariane is alive!" Exclaimed Ethan

  "Of course she's alive who the hell do you think gave me all this bacon, I’m a bard I can’t cook worth a damn,” said Croon.

  "You will have to excuse my friend, Ariane was a mentor of his and she disappeared into this valley a few years ago. Poor kid has been missing her since. I'm new here, can you explain to me what the five are?”

  "Ariane has had her nose in that damn invention for so long I'd forgotten she even existed until not too long ago," Croon grumbled and grabbed another piece of bacon as I topped some bread he had given me with butter and some kind of sweet syrup. I guess I wasn't the only one that found most of the food on Eda bland. It was nice to have something with real taste. As far as I was concerned this made Croon a godsend.

  "So I was a little bitter...but I hadn't even really talked to her in over half a year...and even then it hadn't been for very long. Seriously she can't even take time to say hello, I'll be damned if I knew she had taken an apprentice," Croon said smiling.

  "Now you know how important this is for her. She has been working out here in the valley for quite some time," he strung s few chords on his guitar, "not as long as I have but quite some time," he finished.

  "Yeah, good for her. She sounds fantastic, that's not really why we are here," I muttered as I took a big bite of the bread and quickly chowed down dinner, "you also haven't told me anything about the five."

  "Slow down, Adam," Ethan scolded for a moment as he was biting his own piece of bread. "You may not need scrip to get to the hu
b if Ariane is willing to help us, she's basically royalty. All of the five are. They are the strongest warriors in all of Eda," he finished stuffing his face.

  That would be a first...they've never so much as shown any sign of a government in the alpha build of the game. Darkness Beyond was all about survival.. having a functioning society was counter productive to that. There had to be a lot of pressure related to that. Sure there were in game mechanics that involved buying and selling and clans with leaders and all that but no real functioning society. I had no way of understanding anything like that at all if there was. Politics were not my cup of tea. All I did was practice my sword skills, magic and hunt monsters down to sell items. That was how I enjoyed spending my time. Grinding. Exploring. The only mention of anything like royalty that I could remember was a location known as the queens tomb.

  “I could earn scrip on my own. I'm sure this troll quest would pay well. We all have to make a living...no point in getting on the bad side of potential customers. As soon as I have enough saved up I can start covering other aspects of the game and getting out. I’m not wasting anymore time. I could start being a bodyguard and the amount of money I could get will increase, taking more quests, hunting monsters, I just want to get to the hub,” I got up as I finished my meal. I was tired.

  "Speaking of which, 200 scrip for the meal. Now I don't want to hear you complain I want you to go and actually enjoy yourselves so we can just say it was a loan and we'll compound 10% interest daily. That seems fair.. It isn't every day you get to relax and do a little celebrating," said Croon. Fighting here on this wasn't a battle I knew I could win.

  "Don't give me that look...now just go enjoy yourself for once...

  I have more bacon.”

  ——————

  Ellie and I. I wake up and look over at her. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. One of us didn't move for a long moment, and didn't break our gaze from each other. Finally, she got quickly to her feet and rushed over to me as if she was at fault, but I know I hadn't been paying attention either. Still she started to apologize.

  "I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I wasn't really paying attention and," her eyes grew big and her hand went against her upper chest, grasping for something that clearly wasn't there. "My pendant! Where did it go?"

  I got to my feet but decided to talk with her first, "Hey...are you okay?

  "I'll give you hand," I said although she had already began to frantically search around.

  I took a moment to look at where we had been when we collided and if the clasp on the pendant had come undone. Then I spotted it under a pillow and I rushed over and grabbed it. The pendant was a simple chain with a turquoise colored gem...or was it a pearl? Either way despite its simple look I imagine it was quite old. I walked back over to the her. She was still frantically looking all over so I placed a hand on her shoulder so she turned to me. She was a little startled but quickly recovered.

  "Yes?"

  "Is this it?" I held it out in front of her.

  I could see a wave of relief go over her, "Oh thank goodness! You found it! My pendant doesn't look like much but it has a lot of sentimental value."

  I put the pendant in her hand, "I can tell, you should probably put a new clasp on it, or just be careful when stumbling out of bed."

  "Well I've never done this before so I was kinda looking at everything and not really watching where I was watching...and I noticed that we already slept through most of the day," She seemed somewhat flustered. "Say...what are you doing tonight? Any plans?" I asked.

  "Have a good day," she gave me one last smile as she left the house.

  ——————

  "I wish I had a chance to watch you. I've never really seen someone use an M44 like that ...and you seem to be really fast with it," I commented to which immediately made Ellie smile. She was a better player than I had been. We were playing a horror game. Not Darkness Beyond. It was a game called ‘Moon Fire’. This had been our second date. We were a great team together.

  "I wouldn't mind you watching me but I think its more fun fighting together...like a team," Ellie said as she reloaded her rifle. I smiled and said “ You are right, come on we need a lot more points so lets get to beating this next creature," I said with a smirk. She smiled.

  I could tell it was going to take time to get used to her but her smile had a way of making me want more. I wanted her to smile...and I found myself growing more and more comfortable with her being around. Fortunately we still had plenty of time before the day left to us.

  ——————

  I woke up wanting to scream. My dreams, my memories. I felt like I was only half a person. Croon was sitting next to Garrick singing in a low roar. Bendi and Ethan were dreaming. What is real anymore.

  "I'm becoming an old man. I've been doing this a long, long time. And I'm tired. Tired of people never truly understanding the truth. These beasts are a part of nature; being here long before us. Some cannot be tamed nor domesticated yes, but many can. The daemons that have been appearing, spilling forth from out of the nine realms, they aren't natural. They are abstract, improbable,” Croon's posture changed, ”I have something for you,” and he handed me a pendant with a pearl colored gem. It's the same one that belonged to Ellie in the real world. A pennant I learned had been passed down to her from her grandmother. I could feel it in my hand but even now I still don't believe it. For a moment it felt like the game lagged.

  "Where did you get this?" I asked holding the Pendant tight.

  "Get what?" Croon says puzzled before ignoring me completely and continuing to sing towards Garrick.

  Chapter 13

  I dodged backwards and threw a gust of cold wind into the air. I drew Bendi’s rifle and fired. The creature in front of me was staring at me with its ghastly eyes. I couldn’t move or break free from its gaze. Ethan had been knocked out of the fight. His health was near 10. Bendi hid of course because that was what it did. My health was starting to drop. I was already down to 40 HP with my mana and stamina constantly dragging. The creature, a daemon with two immense wings fully extended, jagged bones and feathers and flesh grafted with chains looked came down again towards me. It was a wyvern boss. A creature similar to Garrick but this one couldn’t be tamed. It was named Fanden, the devil.

  Both Croon and Garrick disappeared by the time we woke up. That whole night felt like it was some kind of mirage. I tied Ellie’s pendant around my neck hoping that I would find answers soon. Every time I started to loose myself in this reality something brought me back. I had been lost in this world for ten full days now and I was level 9. We began making our way to Blackwall when we were ambushed by several low level daemons that looked like rabbid wolves. Daemon wolves. They each had black fur and red glowing eyes. Pretty cliche but what adventure game wouldn’t be complete without wolves and dragons. They were slightly bigger than real wolves. Ethan and I stood back to back and took care of them carefully. Our plan was working perfectly until the wyvern appeared.

  When we first saw it it was a dark spot flying across the sky. Than it attacked us from above. We ran into the forests to try and find cover but we didn’t have much luck. The daemonic wyvern was kicking our asses. Level 30, 5000 health. 5000 Mana. 10000 Stamina. Most of its stamina was used for flight. It spit fire from its mouth… mana. Its health. It was the highest leveled creature I had seen in game.

  “What is it doing so far from the deadlands?” screamed Ethan trying to catch his breath.

  “I don’t know, hunting,” I said trying my best to keep my eyes on the creature as it dove down again towards me. I rolled and blocked with an ice wall. My mana dropped again. It was nearing zero. I wouldn’t have enough for another magic attack.

  “It doesn’t need to hunt, eat, it a daemon, its suppose to be trapped in the Deadlands by rift energy,” said Ethan.

  “I don’t need a history lesson, just how do we kill it or get it away.”

  “We can’t, once
the Fanden sees you as its prey it won’t stop until it has devoured your soul,” Ethan answered.

  “Soulbreaker,” shouted Bendi.

  A line of blue light shot out from the little creatures hands and hit the wyvern’s left wing. It plummeted towards the ground. Dust flew up into the air as the three of us dodged pieces of debris scattered from the impact. The ground was cracked wide open. Once the dust had settled and I could see my target lift its neck from the ground I hit it with everything I had. I aimed for its wing hoping that I could tear it apart.

  My rifle stopped firing. Jammed. I clocked it again and again but it did nothing. Bendi’s rifle wouldn’t fire anymore so I slung it down by my side and picked up my sword. I was going to rush the creature. I had to give it everything I had.

  “Don’t do it,” shouted Ethan.

  A wave of purple light appeared in front of me. It blocked me from moving forward. A second blue light appeared around my ankle and held me to the ground like a chain. I kept moving. I pushed my sword into the purple energy wall and watched as it started to crack. I wasn’t going to let Ethan or anyone stop me. I was red with rage. My stamina turned to zero, my mana replenished. My health began to drop. 35, 30, 25, 20… I finally broke through and felt a surge of energy unlike anything I had ever felt before. Fanden took to the sky again. His wing had already begun to heal before our very eyes. I could see his health was going up again too drawing from its own mana to replenish its life force.