Anchor Knight

by Nathan Thompson

  He—and I deeply resented the fact that I could tell the beast's gender—was a massive boar, at least as tall as the largest sott-jotun we had slain, eighteen feet at the shoulder, and far bulkier. His coarse fur was a metallic gray, and each hair was actually barbed at the end, reminding me of an ancient Earth porcupine. Small patches of the sharp-tipped hairs were stained a rusty red. His hooves’ diameter was at least three times that of my head, and stained red as well, by a liquid I had become all too familiar with in my battles. Far off in the distance behind the monster, his massive tail swayed to and fro, the paintbrush-like tip resembling a cluster of giant gray needles. The bloodbeast's massive head lowered to face me, his boar head the size of my torso, with tusks the size of Nova's sword.

  I sighed.

  Really, Vessa? You had to use me as bait? And you had to wait for him to come this close?

  Don't sigh right now, Jas, it'll ruin it! she sent back to me. Actually, it doesn't matter anymore. Hold on. Don't suddenly jump in front of him or anything.

  The giant boar raised his maw to the sky and let a fearsome, earth-shaking bellow. I had no idea why, and the feeling made me more bitter than intimidated. He shouldn't be bothering to do anything but try and devour me for my Source energy. Vessa shouldn't be doing anything but killing him the very next second.

  I don't know what—I started to say, before a bright flash of light fell from the sky and stabbed right into the monster's head. Her blast took the giant boar through the top of his head, before drilling through the body beneath and out and into the ground below. The giant boar dropped to the ground in a boneless heap, and I jumped backwards to make sure I was clear of his landing.

  Sorry, Vessa said to me as a cloud of dust and Source energy rolled off the slain monster. What were you saying?

  I was trying to figure out whether I should be more upset with your using me as bait, or more upset with the fact that the massive creature was able to sneak up on me in the first place.

  Well, the first doesn't make sense at all, Vessa tried to point out. I mean, that was a perfect attack just there, and at the best time. Think about it: the monster was not only completely outside of the camp, he was outside of the jungle as well, which meant he didn't have any cover to get in the way of my more precise energy weapons. Not only that, but I was able to avoid causing anything more than the absolute minimum damage possible: no animals were hit, no trees were hit, the only other casualty is a tiny patch of grass that will grow back by next season. Not only that, but I managed to fire in a way that concealed my identity, despite all kinds of activity going on out here with the kind of people I really don't want any attention from. I was even able to kill him in the exact spot needed to give you just the right amount of Source energy from the kill. You'll be able to process it the next time you Draw. And it's not like you didn't give me permission to do this in the first place, right?

  I answered her with silence.

  Wait, really, Vessa began again, did you actually give me permission, or did I skip that step and go straight to congratulating myself?

  Can you just teleport me back right now, Vessa? I asked the brilliant but distracted ship-woman. It's been a long day, and it looks like there's nothing else for me to do here.

  Ugh, the ship-woman groaned. Speaking of things not going according to plan… you're going to have to stay put for a bit, Jasper. Mota—my local Beacon, sorry—has changed a good bit since I first made her. Her war party ran into Nova before she could leave the prisoners, and she's been asking some rather tense questions. Apparently she became stubborn about trusting others to help her at some point…

  Upon these words, I suddenly had to strain to keep my expression neutral. I managed it though, and continued listening.

  …and she's worried the whole thing might be some elaborate trap, Vessa continued. Nova agreed to introduce you to her, which was a mistake, because Mota still doesn't know about me, and she isn't in a position to speak for her entire planet, Beacon or not. But then again, the situation is unfolding in such a manner that her people need all the information they can get, and that exchange you just had with that corrupted part-soul was disturbingly illuminating. We need to get to the bottom of whatever ritual he was mentioning, because now the situation looks to be much worse than a simple planet-grab. In fact, I'm worried that there may be other incidents like this or even worse happening on other worlds right now.

  What questions do you want me to answer from her? I asked. And which ones do you want me to completely avoid?

  Just do the best you can, Jas, Vessa sighed to me. Tell her everything she needs to know that can save her planet, and hide all the info you can about me. If her people try to do anything too crazy, I'll just teleport you both back to me and just deal with the consequences. I'm not expecting that to happen, though. They're coming now, just wait here for a few more minutes.

  I shrugged, thought one more time about just how tired I was, and wondered how much I was allowed to complain about, and then found a good place to sit, away from the spikes and away from the massive corpse of the bloodbeast. I thought about just how many things had gone wrong today, and had gone wrong the day before, and how nearly every time I went somewhere, a mishap occurred that Vessa's planning either didn't or couldn't have accounted for. Then I thought about the fact that she had just used me as bait for a creature at least three stages beyond me, and she had managed to do so in a way that proved I was never in any danger to begin with. Well, not from the bloodbeast. The eaters and the bandit leader and that invisible lightning-stone idiot who had come out of nowhere all could have easily killed me—

  You're hungry, dear, my grandmother interrupted my train of thought. Eat something.

  I started to argue with her until I realized just how long ago lunch or breakfast was. Then I summoned a food pouch, drank it in one gulp, summoned another food pouch, drank that one as well, and then summoned a small bag of bloodbear jerky that Vessa had very reluctantly parted with.

  There you go, dear, my grandmother said patiently to me, feel better now?

  Yes, I thought back to her, shoving another piece of jerky into my mouth, but I'm not going to stop eating.

  That's my boy, she told me proudly, and left me to eat in peace.

  Maybe I should start cooking larger portions, I thought to myself, because if this is how Vessa feels all the time then I probably need to be a little more understanding with the poor woman.

  Okay, Jas, Vessa sent to me, and I hurriedly swallowed my last bite with a subconscious and inexplicable guilt. They're coming up on you, now. Get ready to greet them.

  Very well, I said, standing back up to my feet. What are their customs? Should I fix my hair, put my weapons away, or… I trailed off awkwardly, unable to think of any more examples at the moment.

  Sorry, Vessa said back, I should have specified. Nova and Mota's war band beat down the bloodbeast's tribe down so severely that the survivors are fleeing in your direction. Get ready to help intercept them.

  Intercept them? I snapped, losing my temper in the heat of the moment, before suddenly regaining control. Apologies, Vessa, I added hurriedly. I am very tired, and not sure how I could intercept a mob determined to get away. Will it be just like when the weaker ones charged me the first time?

  No, they'll be much smarter this time around, the ship-woman confirmed, and when they see the corpse of their former totem behind you, they'll definitely want nothing to do with you. But I'm not interested in letting them get away, she added, her voice sounding hard in my mind. This was already their second chance, and they made the exact same choice they did the first time. Do what you can to keep as many of them as possible from reaching the portal. If any of them escape, then it will be just one more set of murderers roaming between worlds, and the night sky has far too many of those already.

  Her command sobered away my irritation. I stood back up, as Vessa imparted the path and placement of the retreating bloodhorde into my mind.

  I re
covered my spear and leaned on it, concentrating on what would be the best way to obstruct a large number of practitioners and Sourcebeasts, all of whom probably didn't wish to do anything more than escape. Obviously I couldn't kill all of them—and didn't want to, either. I still needed more time to adjust to all the Source energy I had already gained from today's combat alone.

  After a moment, I came up with a plan. It would empty out most or all of my recovered Source energies, and anyone more than a stage over me would probably have an easy time negating my trap, but it was the best solution I could think up for the current moment.

  As plumes of dust began to appear in the distance, I executed a series of spells.

  I called them spells, but they actually involved all three Source energies. The first one was designed to limit the blood horde's vision and especially keep them from noticing that their patron had been slain until the last possible moment. I worked air and water qi into a chemistry spell that converted their state of matter into a gaseous form, and reinforced it with my breath essence. The result was a wide cloud of fog that spread over as much ground as I could force it to. It wasn't particularly thick, but it wasn't meant to be. I wanted the fog to be thick enough to obscure some level of vision, but not so thick that the fleeing horde would choose to avoid it altogether.

  The spell activated, and I felt the mist plume and billow all around me. I moved to the next spell—and I needed to ask Vessa what the appropriate name for combined Source skills were—and began mixing water and earth qi inside of me. This I ran through my geology mana, to get the ideal type of mud, and ideal placement for it. It exited my body through my limb essence, spreading outward from me to cover the ground hidden by the mist.

  Again, it wouldn't stop anyone much more Advanced than me, but it covered the widest amount of ground possible and the blood horde, despite their name and leader, didn't appear to be very impressive at all.

  With that done, I crafted the first two components of the final spell, mixing fire qi with thermodynamics mana, let it gather near my sense essence, and waited for the incoming dust plume to finally get close enough.

  The dust gave way to screaming figures galloping into view. They were bloody, injured, and greatly reduced in number.

  And they had their own cloud pursuing behind them, one that was gaining rapidly, and had a familiar, wing-shaped light in the sky following them overhead.

  Still though, they had a chance to make it back to the portal, assuming it was still open, and another army wasn't massing behind it. But I doubted that. My enemies had lost hundreds of basic troops, and almost a dozen beings at or beyond the fourth stage of Advancement, and those level of warriors were expensive to replace.

  They dashed or galloped into the fog, far more concerned with the army behind them than they were with a minor loss of visibility. Then, as they stumbled and fell into the Source-made mud, I projected my fire spell through my sense essence and ignited them all with a glowing, but harmless, line of fire, so that they would not lose their pursuers in the fog.

  Nova glided into view, firing her baton into the lead retreating element of the blood horde. Beneath her, an army of galloping Qarm warriors charged forth, each one riding some type of powerful large cat and wearing colorful plate and scale armor. They pounced upon the retreating blood warriors as they rolled in the mud, trying to put out the fire I had just cast, not realizing that it was both harmless and impossible to douse with normal methods.

  The struggle was tense, quick, and entirely one-sided. I looked up in time to see Nova glide down next to me, folding her wings back behind her as she landed.

  "I got a good view from the sky," she said to me in English, since we didn't want to use Glorious Speech. "We got every one of them, and I saw the portal they all came out of deactivate. So in spite of everything that went wrong, we won."

  "Yes," a powerful and melodic feminine voice called out as a figure approached me through the mist. She was riding a massive striped panther, and she seemed completely un-bothered by my mist and mud. She dismounted from her cat with a wide leap, and I got my first view of Vessa's local Beacon.

  She was a tall, powerful woman, nearly as tall as I was, and with toned muscles that would leave many of Earth's athletes awash in envy. Her skin was a dark, rich brown, where I could see it, and she had gold-and-white markings running from her uncovered biceps up her neck to running along her cheeks and forehead. Her hair was an elaborate weaving of intricate and multi-colored braids that mimicked the colors of a rainbow, as she moved toward us they seemed to dance in the wind. Her dark face had full lips and full cheeks, the kind that always produced the most beautiful of smiles, but right now her mouth was shaped into a hard line.

  "Speaking of everything," she said in English as she walked toward us, brown eyes glaring with suspicion, "do you mind telling me why you two muzungus bothered to come down to my world, and how you knew to come here to begin with?"

  "Muzungo," I said in recognition, just as Nova was opening her mouth to answer her fellow Beacon. Both beautiful women turned to look at me, and I suddenly felt the kinship between them.

  My planet turned, as the ship and exploding star nearby both suddenly glowed. Another light, a fiery red one, tried to flicker into being somewhere in my soul, but it dissipated as soon as I tried to focus on it.

  "Ndio, muzungo," the beautiful woman affirmed in Swahili, "our word for foreigner. Not meant as an insult."

  "Najua," I replied to her in her native language. I know.

  Her eyes widened in surprise, as she seemed to be reappraising me.

  "Gina yango Mota," she said to me slowly. My name is Mota.

  "Gina yango Jasper Cloud," I replied, taking a second to remember the proper Swahili words for what I would say next. "And I swear by my Source and my Strength that I am here to help your people, and will continue to do what I can for you and them, until either you or death drive me away."

  She blinked in surprise to my words and the commitment I had affirmed in them, as I felt the tiny red light burst to life in my soul.

  Nova and Mota were both staring at me in surprise, and I could see some kind of power flare in their own eyes, trying to respond to my declaration.

  But this wasn't about their obligations. This was about mine. The choices I had made. The mantle I had taken up. This was about the fact that the woman standing before me was another part of Vessa, and that meant that I had already chosen to be her ally in this time of danger. She would need time to accept that fact, and we would probably have a long talk about the details, but right here, and right now, I chose to affirm my commitment to be her anchor and her knight.

  End of Book 3.

  Advancement Stages and Substages:

  Essence: The Source that focuses on stability, weathering adversity, and interacting with the natural world. Essence practitioners have powerful bodies and souls, as well as the ability to bond with Sourcebeasts, but have less access to short-term supernatural power than a practitioner from any other Source. Currently revealed Advancement stages are: 1) natal, 2) wailing, 3) striving, 4) thriving, 5) flush, 6) matured, and 7) blooded. Jasper has just reached the 7th substage of the wailing stage. His ten substage specializations are: essence, mind, heart, bones, flesh, limbs, hide, talons, senses, and breath.

  Mana: The Source that focuses on study, experimentation, and growth through mastery of practice. Mana practitioners have alert minds, impressive skills, and the greatest ability to summon up short-term power, but receive the least amount of long-term benefits, compared to practitioners of other Source energies. Currently revealed Advancement stages are: 1) tin, 2) copper, 3) bronze, 4) silver, 5) gold, and 6) platinum. Jasper has just reached the 7th substage of the copper stage. His first ten substage specializations are: mana, mathematics(applied), physics(foundational), engineering, biology(physiology), geology, astronomy, thermodynamics(heat transfer), chemistry(Analytical), and kinesiology.

  Qi: The Source that focuses on balance, refinemen
t, and ideal arrangement and patterns. Qi practitioners occupy a middle ground between mana and essence practitioners, in terms of both long-term benefits and short-term magical powers. Currently revealed Advancement stages are: 1) condensation, 2) pool, 3) channeling, and 4) heart-core. Jasper has formed the first layer of the pool stage. His first ten substage specializations are: qi, earth, fire, water, air, wood, metal, frost, lightning, and war. He has gained seven depths and condensed three of them into one layer of his qi pool, the surface.

  Afterword:

  Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed my book and I really appreciate you reading up to this point. I would love for you to leave feedback on a review on Amazon, especially if you liked my work. Reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors like me, helping our books get the exposure readers need to find them. If they can’t find our books, they can’t buy them, and then we authors starve and die, instead of continuing to write. Is my writing still good enough that I should keep going? Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

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  Thanks to all the people that helped me polish my book: Dantas Neto, Ezben Gerardo, Adam Shook, Denny Johnson, Sean Bradley, and Brock Daniel. I greatly appreciate both your feedback and time spent reading my drafts. Special thanks also to Stephanie King and Celestian Rince, who have both worked figurative and probably literal magic on my books. Finally, thank you Antti Hakosaari for your phenomenal cover art, and May Dawney Designs for your excellent typography.