by C. M. Carney
“To think, even my father, the ever wise Lassendir, failed to grasp what Aurvendiel truly is. He was content to live inside her as her glory faded, never knowing she was capable of touching every mind on Korynn.”
He eased the larva inside the hollow and watched as its tendrils sunk into the wood. Instantly the tree began to change, its age shorn gold bark faded to gray as the stain spread upwards and outwards.
Myrthendir stood and backed away as his aetherial magic overtook the empyrean tree. He sensed the once great mind inside the tree retreating, desperate to escape the unbreakable will contained inside the man who was no longer just Myrthendir.
*****
Gryph’s heart thundered as he ran through the gauntlet of frozen warriors. He knew Sillendriel’s hold on them would not last and he had no desire to be among them when her control slipped. He was like Perseus walking into the medusa’s garden of statues that had once been men, and like the hero of Greek myth, Gryph was rushing headlong towards an enemy just as deadly as the gorgon.
What do I do when I get there? Reason with the man? Tell him a joke? “Stab him in the fucking heart.” He looked down at his spear and loaded its storage function with mana. He’d need every advantage if he was going to stop Myrthendir.
Then he remembered his Character Sheets. He’d minimized them back before he’d learned that Myrthendir was a traitor and a madman, and it had completely slipped his mind to look at the innumerable prompts. Too busy not dying. He scowled as his off-color jest made him think of Wick.
He toggled open his interface, turning it opaque so he could keep an eye on his surroundings.
You have earned 256,763 XP for slaying - SEE COMPLETE LIST HERE.
Gryph had no desire to pour over the list of all the people and monsters he’d killed to earn so many experience points. Unlike some people, he did not enjoy killing to gain power. That being said, he was glad the effort awarded him another level.
You have reached Level 16.
You have 11 (5 base +1 GH bonus + 5 previously earned) unused Attribute Points.
You have 1 unused Perk Point.
You have reached level 16 in Air Magic.
You have reached level 5 in Water Magic.
You have reached level 7 in Earth Magic.
You have reached level 10 in Thought Magic.
You have reached level 20 in Staves/Spears.
You have reached level 20 in Light Armor.
You have reached level 15 in Dodge.
You have reached level 13 in Stealth.
You have reached level 9 in Harvest.
You have reached level 19 in Analyze.
You have reached level 17 in Perception.
You have reached level 8 in Leadership.
You have reached level 9 in Traps.
You have reached Apprentice Tier in Staves/Spears
You are awarded a permanent +10 damage to all strikes with Spears/Staves
You have reached Apprentice Tier in Staves/Spears
With that tier boost, the skill has gained a new ability.
You can now use the Tier Ability Perk Surety.
An Apprentice level practitioner of Staves/Spears earns the ability Perk Surety. It allows the user to guarantee the success of one of their Staves/Spears perks one time per day. The user must possess the chosen perk.
EXP: Base Quick Strike has a 15% chance of success. When Perk Surety is used that chance grows to 100%.
Daily Uses: 1
Note: Each successive Tier of Staves/Spears enables you to use Perk Surety an additional time per day.
You have reached Apprentice Tier in Light Armor.
You are awarded a permanent +10 AC while wearing a complete set of Light Armor.
You have reached Apprentice Tier in Light Armor.
With that tier boost, the skill has gained a new ability.
You can now use the Tier Ability Refraction.
Refraction is a defensive ability that enables you to refract all damage done to you by a single successful attack back at the attacker. The damage refracted cannot be blocked or reduced, except by those who possess a higher tier in the skill used to attack, in which case the refracted damage is completely ignored.
Daily Uses: 1
Note: Each successive Tier of Light Armor enables you to use Refraction an additional time per day.
Under normal circumstances both Perk Surety and Refraction would have made him grin ear to ear, but today he was not in a cheering mood, today he was in a murdering mood. His new tier abilities would help him feed that mood.
He had two Perk Points to spend, and he already knew how he’d spend one of them. He toggled open his Staves/Spears skill tree.
Impale: An aggressive attack that can be initiated upon a successful attack. Impale does +200% damage with a spear. Impaled opponents cannot move or counterattack for 5 seconds.
Stun: An aggressive attack with a staff that can be initiated upon a successful attack. Stun does +150% damage and prevents an opponent from moving or counterattacking for 10 seconds.
Quick Strike: An aggressive attack with a staff or spear that can be initiated upon a successful attack. Quick Strike has a chance to land a second attack for the same amount of damage as the first.
Parry: Staves and spears provide a good defense. When an attacker lands a blow, Parry can be initiated. If successful, Parry blocks the attack resulting in no damage.
He dumped a point into Quick Strike. A vision of using both Perk Surety and Quick Strike on Myrthendir brought a wicked grin to his face. Now the question was where to spend his other point?
Upping to the next tier in Impale had merits as did Parry. Gryph knew his only chance against Myrthendir was to hit him hard and fast. That made Impale the obvious choice. He pulled his point into the perk and felt the surge of warmth fill him.
Staves/Spears Perk Tree
Stamina
Tier
Impale
Quick Strike
Parry
30
B
20%
15%
20%
25
A
30%
25%
30%
20
J
40%
35%
40%
15
M
50%
45%
50%
10
GM
60%
55%
60%
0
D
75%
75%
75%
Next, he toggled open his Character Sheet. He had 11 Attribute Points to spend, but since discovering a game hack that allowed him to completely heal himself if he dumped five points into Constitution during a battle, he’d sworn to keep that many points in reserve. He suspected the upcoming battle would demand their use.
He put the other six points into Dexterity. Not only did the Attribute favor his skill set, but he could double dip by casting Mind Shield. The spell allowed his Wisdom score to borrow his highest Attribute for purposes of defense against mental attacks. Dexterity was his highest, now at 65. Hopefully it would be enough to curb the aberrant elf’s powerful mental abilities. He felt the surge in his agility and speed just as his feet hit the ground at the end of the bridge.
An itch at the back of his mind drew him back to the world around him. He gazed upwards and saw the Spire lose the last of its golden sheen as the dull gray of aetherial magic took hold of the once great empyrean tree. Aurvendiel was changing, perverted by the magic of the Prime.
What has he done? A horror and deep sadness he didn’t quite understand dug into Gryph as he watched the heavenly tree’s corruption. He ran harder and soon he was crossing the Sward. He ran past the frozen form of Barrendiel and then the Steward Gartheniel, but he could not help them.
Gryph reached the Spire and dipped into Stealth, hiding in the shadows near the tree’s gates. He cast Mind Shield and
Demon Scales. His mind grew clear and focused as the crimson scales flowed across his skin, increasing his natural armor.
He crept inside, eyes scanning. A dozen paladins and an equal number of warborn stood between him and the dais. He saw Sillendriel’s body bleeding out on the floor and reached his mind out to her.
I am beyond helping, Gryph, she said in the back of his mind. You must stop Myrthendir before his corruption of Aurvendiel is complete.
A deep sadness gripped Gryph and in the part of his soul connected to all things, he felt the slumbering mind of the mighty tree disappear. Tears welled in his eyes. Why is he doing this?
Because he knows what she was, what she could be again. She is so much more than a tree, she is an empyrean elemental tethered to the mortal realm by the tree. The Prime poisoned her because they knew her true power.
What is her true power?
She is a transmitter, capable of touching every mind on Korynn.
Realization punched Gryph in the chest like a body blow from a baalgrath. He will use the black fog on everyone.
Yes, but first he needs to take control of her.
The second arboleth egg?
Yes, he has already bent the larva to his will and mated it to Aurvendiel. Even now its tendrils twine their way through the tree, erasing her. Once the binding is complete, all that she was will vanish, leaving nothing but a blank slate for Myrthendir to place himself.
He’s going to transfer his mind to the tree? Gryph asked stunned. Like installing a new operating system on a hard drive, he thought privately to himself into.
He will be the tree and the tree will be him, and once he unleashes the black fog on the rest of Korynn, no sentient mind will exist but his. All will be Myrthendir.
Gryph’s mind reeled in horror. Million, billions of sentient beings across the planet would cease to exist. It was genocide on a level so huge that his mind could not process it. Ovyrm would be gone. Lex would be gone. Tifala would be gone. Brynn would be gone. I will be gone.
I cannot do this alone. If I can heal you, maybe we can defeat him together.
No, you cannot, you must not. I have seen the tendrils of possibility, and if you save me, we lose the Realms. Here is where I die. Goodbye, Gryph. I am sorry.
Gryph no longer felt her mind and a quick glance at her body told him he would never hear her voice again. He pushed his anger down and twisted it into focused purpose. He rushed towards the elf lord as quickly as he could without losing Stealth.
Myrthendir had his back to Gryph, hands caressing the bark of the corrupted tree. Maybe I should have invested in Backstab. But Gryph was not a man to let regret lose a battle for him. He eased himself up the stairs of the dais and crept close.
He pumped full mana into Penetrating Strike and used a charge to power Yrriel’s Bite. He considered using Perk Surety on Impale, but the perk would only have a chance to do double damage if he actually hit the dickhead elf. He’d wait until he landed a hit and then use the new tier ability on Quick Strike. He pushed mana into his Boots of Deftness, doubling his movement and attack speed, and jumped, thrusting forward with all of his strength.
Myrthendir spun and Gryph’s spear missed by mere inches. The elf lord brought his staff down, forcing Gryph to use Parry. Spear clanked against staff and Myrthendir pushed knocking Gryph off balance.
“Curious,” the elf lord said and looked down at his fingers as they danced with aetherial gray mana. “I felt you coming through the aether.” He looked up at the tree as the stain of gray continued to eat away at the faded gold bark. “My mind is already expanding, but by all means, let us fight. I haven’t had a good scrap in quite some time.” He spun his staff in an intricate series of forms designed, no doubt, to prove to Gryph just how outclassed he was. He pointed the staff at him and a thin blade of gray energy flowed from the end.
“Let’s play,” the elf lord said and jumped forward much quicker than expected. Gryph spun aside, but the gray blade still nicked Gryph’s arm. It only took a few ticks of his health, but then aetherial energy thrummed into his muscles and his arm went numb.
Myrthendir pushed the attack as Gryph activated Dodge. He stumbled and the elf lord’s staff cracked into his ribs, breaking several.
What the hell?
You have been tagged with an Aetherial Mark.
Aetherial Marks are tags of aetherial energy that allow aetherial magic adepts to predict and track your movements.
-50% to AC for the duration of the tag.
-50% chance to Dodge for the duration of the tag.
-50% chance to hit for duration of the tag.
-100% to Stealth for duration of the tag.
The aetherial magic user who tagged you can now track you for 1,000% the duration of the tag.
Duration: 57 seconds.
Well, fuck me, Gryph grumbled to himself and stumbled back. He shook his arm trying to cast off the burning numbness and struggled to bring his spear into a defensive position. He backed away, trying to put space between him and Myrthendir. How am I going to avoid this asshole for the next minute?
Gryph backed away, keeping the point of his spear between him and the aberrant elf. “You do know I have all the time in the world and you,” he looked over at his cousin, “do not.”
He’s trying to goad me into attacking, Gryph thought. He knows I have no options. Gryph’s brain scrambled for some way out of this shit storm and found nothing. He felt like a kid about to take a test whose mind goes completely blank from the pressure.
Myrthendir struck at him again and Gryph evaded only to walk into the aberrant’s next attack. He is herding me. He was hit again and again as his health trickled ever downward. The attacks came so quick and so frequently that Gryph wasn’t able to think straight. The blows to the head had surely caused a concussion. Somewhere in all the confusion, Gryph lost his spear.
From the distant corners of his mind a voice came to him. Give the enemy what they think they want, came the Colonel’s voice. And when they let down their guard, you take what you need.
Then a plan, a desperate, stupid plan came to him.
“Fuck you,” Gryph spat, and even he wasn’t sure if he meant it for the traitor elf or his phantom father.
43
Myrthendir grinned, knowing he had Gryph. He had once been a victim to that kind of anger; uncontrolled, mind dulling rage that needed to be cut away and scoured with fire. He looked down upon the bleeding player and decided he’s had enough fun.
“I do so enjoy our little games, but I have important work to finish.”
He grabbed Gryph around the throat and pulled him off his feet. The player’s eyes went wide in surprise. It felt good not to hide his strength any longer. The Prime had taken much, but they had given in equal measure.
Gryph punched Myrthendir’s hands, trying to force the crushing grip to release him, but the gesture was futile. Myrthendir slammed the player against the trunk of Aurvendiel and a strangled yell of pain bubbled from the man’s lips.
Myrthendir extended his free hand and sent a few pulses of mana through the aether, reaching and seeking. His mind wrapped around the shaft of Gryph’s spear, a wondrous artifact that did not belong to him.
The elf lord caressed the mighty weapon with telekinetic strands of himself and then drew it to him. The spear flew, snapping into his outstretched hand. He spun the weapon, appreciating its perfect balance, and the coolness of the metal. The weapons stats pulsed through his awareness and he considered his options.
He turned and stared Gryph in the eye. “This may pinch.” He thrust forward with his Prime enhanced strength and plunged the spear through Gryph’s shoulder and sunk it deep into the wood of the tree.
Gryph howled in agony and lost consciousness. Myrthendir scowled and Analyzed the ragged looking man. His health bar hovered at 10%, but the spear in his shoulder was preventing further blood loss. He would live, for now.
“I’m so glad that you’re still alive. I do hope you reconsi
der and join the team.“ He cocked his head and leaned his ear towards the crucified man, as if waiting for a response. “Nothing? Well remind me to talk about it when you wake up.” He reached up and patted Gryph on the side of the face like a jesting uncle.