Damsels of Jormia 2: A Light Novel (An Isekai Fantasy Series)

by Marcus Sloss

  After dinner, we all filed into the stone tent, assuming our normal sleeping position. If everything went as projected, we expected to reach the dwarven village the following day. With this thought on our minds, we drifted to sleep.

  ∞∞∞

  When I awoke the next morning, Illia had moved from her spot away from the group, ending up between Aquina and I, her head on my leg. I would miss her, I realized, somewhat hoping she wouldn’t decide to stick to her original plan and separate from us at the Dwarven village. I reminded myself that outcome was always the plan as I untangled myself from the three still sleeping beauties and exited the stone tent.

  The suns had just begun to rise over the horizon, so I left the girls to sleep longer, not wanting to interrupt their rest. I decided to try my hand at using my earth mana gift once again, having failed miserably the first time. Picturing Illia and how easily she manipulated the earth, I tried to mimic her movements.

  So fluid and swift at times while at others harsh and jarring, each having a different effect on the earth she controlled. I put my hands out in front of me, imagining the result I wished to see and the movement of the rocks that surrounded the area. I lifted my hands, my mind imagining the rocks coming with them.

  Nothing happened. Again— I pictured the earth mounding, pulling the dirt higher and higher with the movements of my hands. Still nothing.

  Sitting on the ground, I rested my hands on the surface, feeling the grains of dirt between my fingers. Why was this so difficult? I could feel the flow of mana, I could extend it to my fingertips, but it resulted in nothing.

  I felt like I was missing something. I closed my eyes, waiting for the last piece to connect. With fire, visualization was the most important thing; with lightning it was the control of mana—using it to increase the power of your strikes. With earth...with earth...

  “The earth is all around you. You must learn to use it as an extension of yourself.”

  I remembered Illia words when she first instructed me on how to invoke my gift. Unlike fire and lightning, the earth was tangible, not requiring the mana inside me to create the element. If it wasn’t my own creation to control...then I would need to control the mana that surrounds it.

  I remembered my training with the Hivini king. He had mentioned that even outside mana could be manipulated and used to increase your own power. I tried again.

  This time, when I felt the flow of mana building in my fingertips, I imagined it spreading further, connecting with the mana that naturally existed in the world. I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, but I thought I could feel the power outside of my body.

  Now, the problem was utilizing that power to control the earth around me. Meditation always seemed to be a necessary step in the training process, so I closed my eyes, allowing the connection between myself and the world’s mana to build as I concentrated.

  Just as I started to doubt my epiphany, I felt a change in the flow of my mana—instead of flowing within, it felt as though I could feel the flow outside of my body. It was different than the usual result of building my own strength. It was almost as though I had borrowed a bit of the world’s mana without adding it to my own stores. That can’t be right.

  I opened my eyes, ready to call it quits for the day, when I found a chunk of rock floating in front of me. Surprised, I began searching the area for Illia, but when I jerked my head to search for her, the rock fell to the ground. It worked.

  Although I wasn’t sure what part just yet, at the very least I could be sure that I possessed the earth mana gift. I did a silent fist pump, to congratulate my efforts before I began testing out my theories once more.

  Another twenty minutes later, and I successfully lifted the same rock back into the air. I found that controlling my own mana would be the most important aspect in utilizing the earth mana gift. I needed to use my own power to direct the earth’s mana to manipulate earth. Yes, a bit of a headache.

  “Well, would ya look at that,” Illia said as she crawled out of the stone tent.

  “Not bad,” she playfully punched my shoulder, causing me to drop the rock.

  Of course, she laughed at this result.

  “No worries, it gets easier with time. Try it again.”

  I followed her command, lifting the rock back into the air.

  “Good, now can you change its shape?”

  She seemed to expect a lot from a beginner. I focused more energy into the rock, trying to fill it with enough mana to allow me to manipulate its shape.

  I stared at the floating piece of earth, the mana building, surrounding the entire chunk. As the rock absorbed more of my mana, it split then exploded into tiny pieces.

  “Too much mana,” Illia said simply, picking up a piece of the shattered rock.

  “You’re not far from controlling this power, but it's not just about filling the earth with your own mana to be able to take control of it. In fact, only the smallest amount of your own mana is even needed—let the earth take care of the rest. Try again.”

  When I raised a new rock into the air again, Illia placed her hands on mine, letting her mana flow through me.

  “Slow down the release, you will drain yourself at that rate,” she told me, and I tried to ease up on my mana expense.

  “Good. Now can you feel the mana around the rock? Take control of that. Use it as if it were your own.”

  She made it sound so simple. Illia released my hands, lifting a rock of her own to show me how she could shape it to her will. Effortlessly, it became a sharp weapon, then a flat sheet, until finally she returned it to its original shape.

  It reminded me of molding clay...except you weren’t allowed to touch the clay. With a bit more focus, the mound of rock in front of me moved, the shape changing ever so slightly. Not into anything recognizable, but it did move.

  Frustrated, I dropped my hands roughly, forgetting I had control over the chunk of earth. The rock sped back to the ground, leaving a decent sized crater in its place.

  “Whoops.”

  Illia inspected the crater, a small smile pulling at her lips.

  “Well, you certainly have the offensive part in the bag,” she laughed.

  I realized she was right. If I could manipulate the earth to use as a weapon, even my meager skills could prove useful. Of course, mastering earth to Illia’s level would be beneficial, I first needed to focus on utilizing it to the best of my ability. Take things slow, I reminded myself, trying to look at the positives of my accomplishments.

  “Good morning,” Aquina and Cera said in unison, coming out from the tent.

  “Did you do this?” Aquina asked, staring down at the crater.

  When I nodded, the excitement showed on her face as she rushed to hug me.

  “I want to see!” Cera joined in the excitement.

  I spent the next five minutes with all eyes on me as I lifted rocks into the air and hurled them at trees in the distance.

  “Not bad, rookie. But you should still practice your more intricate attacks as well. Brute strength will certainly help in battle, but it doesn’t even scratch the surface of what the earth mana gift can do.”

  I knew she was right, but in the moment, I just wanted to revel in the accomplishment.

  “Still, yer doing great. With practice, you may even be as good as me one day,” she grinned in a way that told me she didn’t see that happening.

  Still, I accepted the compliment, our goals for this adventure seeming to be within my grasp. After cleaning up the camping space we set off once again, not sure how much longer we would need to walk to reach the Dwarven village. By Aquina’s calculations we were within a day's reach, but even that wasn’t a certainty.

  Four hours later, Aquina’s plans proved correct as the small gate surrounding the wooded village came into view. Unlike the previous villages we visited, the Dwarves were set up within the forest, making use of the trees and the uneven landscape to build their houses.

  Treehouses filled the limbs of
the trees while houses of stone and mud occupied the forest level. The design was intricate and beautiful, reminding me of the elven cities I’d seen in video games back on Earth.

  I wondered if more than just the dwarves lived in this village, something I kept to myself, figuring the answer would come without ever needing to ask.

  “We made it!” Illia perked up, letting us know we were in the right place.

  Our pace rushed by Illia’s excitement, we quickly made it to the small fence that outlined the front of the village. It was clear the wall acted more as a delineation than as a means of defense. The size of it alone left much to be desired in terms of protection.

  We waited by the gate, not wanting to intrude upon the inhabitants of the village, but after five minutes and not so much as one curious dwarf coming to ask our business, we began to grow impatient.

  “Is it always like this?” I questioned aloud, ready to walk in unannounced.

  “I’m not sure. It wasn’t when I lived here, but a lot can change in six years,” Illia told us, her hands beginning to fidget.

  “I say we just go in. Illia is with us, so I doubt they could remain hostile once they see her,” Aquina reasoned, also growing tired of the waiting game.

  When everyone agreed, we hopped the meager wall and entered the dwarven village. Everything appeared peaceful once inside the wall. No signs of attack, no destroyed houses as far as we could see. Everything remained quiet—a bit too quiet.

  “Hello~” Cera shouted, catching us all off guard.

  “What?” She shrugged when we all looked at her with questioning gazes.

  Walking in further, the homes spread out, taking on the natural shape of the forest. Not one tree had been removed to make space for the villagers, they simply built where they could.

  “There.” Illia pointed out a nice sized hut in the branches of a tall tree, the shape slightly more impressive than the other houses that surrounded it.

  “That’s where the village chief lives--or lived at least.”

  We started walking toward the chief’s hut, but the feeling that something wasn’t right continued to nag at me. Where were the villagers? A group of strangers enter your home and not one dwarf sounds the alarm?

  “This isn’t right.” I told them, searching the area with a more discerning eye.

  I picked out a random cave-type dwelling, letting the girls know I wanted to check it out. They followed without objection as we entered the unsuspecting home. The space was much larger than the outside would lead you to believe, the cave leading deeper under the forest floor.

  It resembled a typical village hut, but it was darker inside from the lack of surface light. I lit a fireball on my hand, using the light to examine the space. Candles were set up on the walls around the interior, so I lit them, a kitchen table coming into view.

  The table had been set for a family of four, each place complete with a plate, drink and wooden cutlery. There was even a high-chair around the small table, a fact that only made the silence more concerning. The food remained on the table, untouched as if frozen in time.

  “What in the world?” Aquina breathed out the words as she took in the sight of the empty house, that by all indications someone had lived in quite recently.

  We split up to check the other rooms, but in the end found no one. There were no traces as to where they went and no signs of a struggle.

  “Maybe they saw us coming and were told to evacuate?” Cera voiced her speculations.

  “Maybe they are still in the village somewhere?”

  With a lot of questions, we left the cave-like dwelling, hoping to find a clue as to where the inhabitants had disappeared to. I hoped they simply fled to a safe house of some sort, but even that made no sense to me. There were only four of us—a village this size surely had a military unit in place to deal with monsters or strangers of unknown intentions.

  Not sure how to interpret the situation, we climbed a tree, wanting to check out another residence. The house was built of wood and placed securely in the branches of the tree, a platform surrounding it on all sides. For precautions sake, we knocked on the door first, not wanting to scare anyone that might be inside by simply barging in.

  I listened for a moment after knocking, but nothing could be heard coming from the inside. Pushing lightly on the plank door, it swung open, revealing a spacious and a neat and tidy living area. We all entered and began searching the area for any signs of life.

  Like the house before, there were indicators that whoever lived there had been in the middle of a task when they were abruptly called away; half folded laundry, a half full drink, toys sprawled out for a little one all looked abandoned. Still, after searching every space in the dwelling, no one was found in the house.

  “What happened here?” I asked aloud, still searching the space with my eyes.

  With nothing more to see in the small house, we exited, returning to ground level.

  When our feet had returned to solid ground, Cera yelled, “Is there anyone here,” eliciting another concerned look from the rest of the group.

  Although things remained quiet, we couldn’t be sure that an enemy wasn’t hiding somewhere in the village. Walking further in, there were still no signs of life, the quiet becoming suffocating.

  When we reached the far end of the village, things took a dark turn. The battle we expected to see throughout the forest home sprawled out at the far reaches of the area, bodies littering the ground. Despite the brutality, there were too few bodies to be the whole of the Dwarven fighting force and by the attire of the fallen, we could tell there were no civilians among the dead.

  Amongst the bodies, a few Rexco soldiers were strewn throughout, indicating the attackers. Adding this new information to what we saw in the personal dwellings, I had an idea as to what happened to the village.

  “Remember our first battle with the Rexco?”

  Aquina turned toward me, thinking back to that first attack.

  “The general,” she said at last, my words triggering her memory.

  “Do you think his power would be capable of this? To take out a whole village... It looks like they didn’t even see it coming.”

  “What are you talking about?” Cera asked, confused by our words.

  “When the Rexco attacked my village—when Nolan had first come to this planet, the general decreased our numbers by a third in only a few moment’s time. He had a weird ability. It was like nothing I have seen before. A black smoke, thick and ominous, erupted from his body before it consumed our kind, leaving no trace of them behind.”

  “Are they all dead?” Illia stared off toward the bodies of the Dwarven soldiers, her mind on the missing.

  “I don’t know.” Aquina responded hesitantly.

  Illia looked at the ground, her fists clenched.

  “How are we supposed to defend against that?”

  “I…don’t know. We thought it would be a limited ability, since he stopped at only a third of our troops, but based on what I’ve seen here, I’m not so sure about that anymore.”

  I wish we had better answers to give her, but our knowledge of the Rexco general remained limited, having only encountered him one time.

  “Does yer offer still stand?” Illia turned to me, her eyes glistening.

  I gave her a questioning look, forgetting the conversation she alluded to.

  “I want to join you. I want to help you take down the Rexco. Please, let me help you.”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you. I – I – I need a minute.”

  Aquina, Cera and I gave Illia her space, walking toward the center of the village, while she remained at the rear, still taking in the gruesome scene.

  “Think she’ll be ok?” Cera questioned when we were out of earshot.

  “Eventually,” I told her, sitting down on a log in the center of the village.

  “Now what are we supposed to do?” Aquina questioned, our mission of returning Illia to her village having gone
up in smoke.

  “Should we return? I mean we have basically completed our mission. If Illia is coming with us, I can learn earth magic from her anywhere.”

  “That’s true. It would be beneficial to be back in the village just in case anything happens.”

  “There’s something else you need to do before you run on home to yer village.” Illia entered the space, her voice overly loud in the quiet of the surroundings.

  “And what would that be?” I grabbed at the bait she had set, wanting the conversation to continue.

  “You need a weapon. And none of the cheap shit you’ve been working with. It’s no wonder all of them broke.”

  I grinned at her suggestion, liking where the conversation was headed.

  “Lucky for you, we are in one of the villages known for their elite craftsmanship. And even luckier for you, I’m here. We just need to find the workshop, and I’m sure I could whip ya up somethin’.’”

  She puffed up her chest, proud to show off her skills.

  “I’d appreciate that,” I answered honestly, ready to have a sword back in my arsenal.

  “Perfect. So, we’ll stay a few days, I’ll make ya a weapon and then we can head back toward yer village. Sound like a plan?”

  I nodded, glancing around to see if the others shared in the sentiment. Both Cera and Aquina shook their heads in response, and just like that, our plans were solidified.

  “Do you think the dwarves will mind if we borrow one of their homes for our stay?” Cera asked, eying the empty dwellings longingly.

  “The chief usually received guests in his own home, so I don’t think there would be any issue if we stayed there for now.”

  Illia pointed out the largest of the forest treehouses, directing our attention to our new home for the next few days. We made our way to the large tree, and, using the foothold carved throughout the trunk, we climbed up to the platform that held the house.

  I knocked on the door once again, realizing there would be no answer before pushing open the slated wood door. The house was much larger than the previous ones we’d explored. There were many bedrooms and even a bathroom within the space, giving us plenty of choices for the night.