The Warrior of Sapin
CHAPTER 1
“This is the final step in returning to this world, now place the child on the altar” the dark god Faramedes said as he looked at his new body. Currently he was incased inside of a poorly made golem his followers had scrounged up. While initially he was happy to at least roam the world after the great cleansing, he now longed for a body more fitting for someone of his stature. Faramedes had been trapped in the golem for 500 years while everything was put into place, but today the payoff would be worth his struggles. This child was specially altered by using techniques not seen of this world. He had the skill of the dwarves, the fearlessness of the orcs, the agility of the elves, the regeneration of the trolls and the cunning of the humans. Not only that, this body would be able to blend in amongst any of those races, their gods would not be able to save them from his wrath. Each of their gods had placed enchantments at the heart of their favored lands, those from other races were prohibited from entering, but this body would shift upon hitting that magical barrier allowing him entry. Faramedes was just upset it took him so long to get this body.
The problem was saving up enough divine energy to walk this realm, being in golem form made it so his power was constantly drained. Saving up the amount of power he needed took five hundred years to do so, with the new body he would retain some of his divinity while walking the world. He was sure the others would try to band together to fight against him but he did not fear them for he knew the limits of their power. They could only appear for moments at a time and only in temples dedicated to them, Faramedes would destroy all the temples he came across making running into one of the others unlikely. While it was true they could possibly have their own golems made, their power would be greatly weakened like his was in his current state, animating statues took a lot of power. There was only one of his kind who could possibly offer a challenge now, the Light Bringer.
There were seven beings like him, the other five had more followers but limited themselves greatly by picking one race over the other. The Light Bringer though had followers across all races, she could fight Faramedes in any arena unlike the others. He expected the other gods and their respective Champions to try and slay him but only the Light Bringer could cross over and follow him where ever he went. That problem would fix itself later, for now he had to prepare the child with the final bit of magic. Faramedes would pour the remaining magic he had into the child, this would be the final preparation it would need to store his consciousness. Faramedes would be extremely vulnerable afterwards, he would be drained of magic and unable to move. During this time his own Champion would sacrifice himself to provide the bit of magic his priest needed to complete the ritual transferring the consciousness of the child into the golem and his into the child. Once he got into the infant he would first need to grow up, then repay all of his loyal servants.
Faramedes began pouring all of his remaining magic into the child, he would need all of it to ensure the body would be able to have a renewing source of magic. As he poured in the last drop a great noise sounded from up above. Faramedes went to demand silence but could not speak, he was out of energy and already he could feel his consciousness being pulled back into his kingdom of shadows where he had domain over all of those doomed to the pit. He wanted to scream at his Champion to hurry on with the ceremony as the idiot turned to fight with someone else in the room. Faramedes could feel his consciousness slip away further back into his realm as he had no power to keep himself in this world. Finally the fight spilled in front of him and he could see his attackers. Faramedes could smell the Light Bringer’s stench upon a big man holding an axe, it was obviously her Champion and he was more skilled than Faramedes own Champion. Faramedes saw his Champion fall but not before landing a lucky blow slicing the other across the neck. Faramedes cursed as his chance at freedom slipped away as his Champion did not fall across the altar and he could feel his priests being slaughtered. Faramedes last images while in the world of mortals was of the Light Bringer’s Champion falling across the altar and imbuing the babe’s body with magic. The magic was incompatible with Faramedes as he faded away into the pit as some warrior picked the child up off the altar.
CHAPTER 2
Jason looked at his latest creation and smiled, his adopted father would be proud. His father had worked as a blacksmith and was more than capable during his younger days. His father still did light blacksmith work but none on the level he had been before he got injured during the big fight Jason had heard about all his life between the forces of the Sorrow Bringer and the Bringer of Light. His father had joined forces with the high priest of the Light Bringer and fought a secret sect of dark priests in the kingdom of Set. The high priest was slain but whatever the Sorrow Bringer had been planning was interrupted, his father believed Jason himself was about to sacrificed in some sort of dark ritual. His father was injured in the battle, losing strength in his right hand. His father had adopted him on the spot since he and his wife were childless. That battle started the beginning of the Great War between the kingdom of Set and the kingdom his father used to be a part of, the people of Dale. That battle claimed many lives, including his father’s wife. Jason didn’t know what to think at this but figured his father was embellishing things. His father had told tales of fantasy creatures he swears exist but no one had ever really seen at least not in the small town he was in. He spoke of people called elves joining in, tall slender people who he said lived in a great forest many miles south who apparently were excellent with a bow. Their involvement in the great war had other races joining in, each more unrealistic than the next, some were like short strong men while others could even regrow an arm that had been chopped off. Whatever the case his father had fled his former home and settled in a small kingdom where he made his living as a blacksmith, mostly doing small jobs until Jason was trained up. Lately though Jason had surpassed his father in terms of skill, the small items he made were of better quality. But Jason’s latest creation, a simple dagger had been made using the techniques his father had taught him but could not really demonstrate due to the folding involved.
“Are you in here Jason?” Jason heard his father’s strong voice say. “You need to come out of the smithy and practice; I know you have been stuck in there all day.”
Jason sighed a little but took the dagger with him, it was all one piece and made from a mixture of iron and other metals his father had told him blended well. The dagger was perfectly weighted and would be strong, anyone who could own such a weapon should be proud. Jason would offer it to his father though, he was sure the old man would appreciate it. Jason walked out of the forge and could see his father held two wooden swords. Jason had been practicing with the blade for almost as long as he could remember along with a couple of other weapons. His father admitted during his younger days he was a fair blade but was nowhere near a prodigy or swordmaster. Still, he had always told Jason a man needed to protect himself so he had taught Jason everything he knew about various weapons, lately though Jason had beaten his father every time they dueled. Jason was just a bigger person, over the last year he experienced a huge growth spurt that saw him shoot past his father and gain even more muscle from working at the forge. Jason had a tremendous speed advantage already, not to mention his father often had a poor grip on his blade due to the injury. The only thing that kept their contests competitive was because his father had excellent intuition and was often one step ahead of Jason.
“I have finished with my project” Jason said as he held the blade out to his father who took it in his hands.
“She is a fine blade for sure” the elder man said as he twirled it around. “I think she will treat you well if you ever have to use it to do anything other
than skinning animals.”
“I already have a dagger” Jason said patting his hip. The dagger was the first weapon his father had ever made, it was of poor quality and had to be oiled daily. His father had given it to his father but once he died he got the blade back and had given it to Jason who had kept it ever since.
“Why would you want that old blade when you can have this one” his father asked as he eyed the blade in the sun. “It is perfectly balanced and looks like it will keep a good edge. Mine was made by a boy who barely knew what he was doing.”
“You just want my blade back” Jason teased. “I am happy with the dagger, besides I made it for you.”
“Well now you got me all teary eyed” his father said as Jason could tell his father was caught up in emotion. “We can practice some other time, why don’t you head into town and get us some ale.”
“Father you know I hate doing that” Jason sighed. His father owned a small shop just inside the town gates where he sold ready-made metal items. He would also take orders from there but made everything outside of the town limits since the entire town was made from lumber taken from the surrounding trees and he needed a stone building for his forge. Even if he wanted to put the forge inside city limits the town was already created and jammed packed, it was on a popular route between two big cities and the noble over the whole thing probably would not like it if his father went tearing down buildings. None of that though was the reason Jason hated going into town, he really disliked the attention he received. The boys around his age were a pretty close knit group that mainly worked in the Baron Dawson’s fields like their parents. They were a rough bunch who all hated Jason because it was obvious Jason did not belong. Jason was taller than almost all of them except Yancey but unlike the other boy who was as thin as a stalk of wheat, Jason had muscle. While he had never really had a physical altercation with any of them he knew the day was coming and dreaded it. As bad as that sounded he had a bigger enemy in Baron Dawson’s only son Patrick.
Patrick Dawson did not often come into Gaol, the town Jason helped serve with his smithing. There were two other larger towns in Baron Dawson’s lands; his responsibilities had kept Patrick too busy to spend his time in only one place. Despite the fact Patrick was short and fat like his father, many girls in town became flustered and practically threw themselves at him whenever he was in town. All except when Jason was around, which made the future Baron hate him to no end. Jason’s father had been visited by fathers who had daughters at home, they came under the pretense of just being friendly but always asked about Jason’s plans on romance. There were few boys in the town that had an actual skill they could rely on, Jason was one of them. The other thing was that women often flirted with Jason which made him feel uneasy, he had no experience with what they called the fairer sex and really wasn’t interested either.
“You know you will have to face them all eventually” his father said as he placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“I know father but you don’t know what it is like” Jason replied. “Look at me, I just don’t fit in with them, I’m too tall, too big and I don’t have the features the people here have.”
“Well neither do I” his father smiled. “Have you forgot I am not from around here either?”
“Yeah but no one is going to give you any problems, you are the only blacksmith around” Jason sighed. “The rest of them have straw colored hair, mine is as dark as night not to mention I have dark eyes, even your eyes is colored.”
“It still don’t matter” his father smiled. “I don’t think the young ladies in town mind.”
“That’s another reason I don’t want to go” Jason sighed. “Besides I know at least one woman in there has her eye set on you and I don’t see you going for it, we may need a woman’s touch.”
“Nice try boy” his father laughed. “Now go get that ale while I start on the backstrap of that deer you killed. We were going to have the flank but in honor of my new dagger I think we need something more appropriate. With the seekers coming we may not have this opportunity for long.”
Jason nodded and turned to leave as he knew what his father was talking about. Strange things had always happened to Jason and lately it had gotten worse. Cuts and burns he received would be completely gone in a day or so, when he was angry sometimes things would fly off the table and once his father swore he sort of disappeared. While true it was at night and Jason was wearing dark clothes, with everything else that happened he couldn’t discount it. Jason grabbed his claymore before he left, although he was better with his smaller sword, he loved the weight of the huge sword across his back. Technically the blade belonged to his father, his father had made it at the height of his skill sometime before the battle where he saved Jason. Once Jason learned its history he had wanted the blade, so far his father had not scolded him for taking it. Perhaps next Jason would try to make such a blade himself, he was sure he could as the metal practically begged him to shape it when he was working in the forge. He had tried to explain it to his father who said it could be unnatural, just another reason to fear the seekers when they came.
The seekers were sent out to find potential magic users. Magic typically ran in families and manifested itself around the age of 16, so most seekers didn’t have to travel far. But every other year they came and tested everyone 16 to 18 years, failure to be tested could land someone in jail. Jason had never heard of anyone being taken from his small town but Patrick had spread a rumor that he would be taken this year since one of his great grandparents were rumored to be a mage. That would be perfect, traveling with a moron he could not stand. Jason neared the town and took a deep breath as he walked through the town gates. Jason could see people were already winding down, tomorrow was rest day according to the religion most people in the town adhered to. The small tavern Jason was going to was sure to be busy since no one had work tomorrow and the owner had a new batch of fruit wine to put out. It was cheaper than the ale he was after and people drank the stuff like water. Jason found the tavern and walked inside, the place was as rowdy as he thought it would be.
Serving girls walked around with trays and tried to navigate the sea of groping hands from already drunk men. There were several card games being played and Jason thought he heard the sound of a fight getting ready to break out. Jason was happy not too many people paid him attention as he navigated to the crowd and sat on a barstool. Unfortunately for him one person did pay him attention and she touched his shoulder as she sat down. Gail Halfin was a forty year old widow who looked good for her age, she had always made Jason feel uncomfortable around her but Jason knew he was just the consolidation prize, Gail wanted Jason Sr. and was never shy about letting his father know. Gail’s daughter Agatha was also pretty and looked like a younger version of her mother, right down to her light brown hair, bright hazel eyes and sizable bosom. The thing that turned off his father was Gail’s attitude, the few times Jason had talked to Agatha, Jason could confirm her daughter was the same way. They both liked to flirt a lot then pit men against each other, sometimes they would do it by simple flirting while other times they would straight up start a fight with an old flame. Jason had seen Gail do it once two years ago when he was with his father. Both of them were walking towards their store when they saw Gail on the arm of Chauncey Rice, the captain of Baron Dawson’s guard. Gail made some remark about how she wondered if every part of Jason Sr.’s body was as muscular as his arms and start throwing herself at him. Chauncey became angry and Gail told him he shouldn’t be. As angry as Chauncey was Gail told him she could only be on the arm of the best fighter in Gaol. Gail had never seen Jason Sr. fight before, his dad told him she had only heard rumors that he had fought in a war in his homeland and wanted to see him fight. The woman started a fight between two men just for entertainment. Chauncey went after his father but soon found himself outnumbered as Jason drew his blade as well which made the man back up. Jason Sr. had avoided going into town much after that, he only went to his shop a
nd Jason himself had avoided Gail and Agatha as much as possible, Agatha tried something similar between him and Patrick Dawson.
“Hello Jason” Gail said as she pretended to fix Jason’s collar. “I am amazed to see you in here at this time, are you just bored at home?”
“I just came to buy some ale” Jason replied. “I aint drinking here, I am going to bring the whole thing home.”
“That sounds like a good time” Gail replied. “How is your father doing anyway? I don’t see him in town that often anymore. You know if you wanted, me and my girl could come over and give you a little company. Maybe make you a real meal instead of the jerky and things you always eat, maybe even make some fresh bread.”
“Perhaps another time” Jason replied. “Me and my father are celebrating a personal occasion and want to hang out, just the two of us.”
“Personal?” Gail said raising an eyebrow.
“Very personal” Jason replied in a tone that let her know he would not tell her the occasion.
“Just don’t drink too much” Gail replied as she bent forward slightly. Jason could see her breasts were in plainview and wanted to kick himself that he actually glanced at them once or twice. Gail apparently saw it as well as Jason could see she had a triumphant smile on her face. “The seekers are supposed to be here tomorrow, you need to get tested along with everyone else your age. It is a big event, even Baron Dawson is supposed to be here.”
“I thought they wouldn’t be here for at least another week” Jason said confused.
“That is what you get for not socializing” Gail replied. “If you bothered to come to the square you would have heard the crier screaming it out or one of your friends would have told you. But then again I am not sure if you have any friends.”
“Too busy with work” Jason replied. “Thanks for the information.”
The Warrior of Sapin Page 1