Transcending Limitations

by Brian Wilkerson

  “Good luck breaking through my metal...skin...”

  Behind the gnomes was a floating mass of brown energy, an elemental. Unlike the gnomes, who were earth spirits, this was a true manifestation of divine power. It was a fragment of the raw energy from the Aggregate Sentience of Earth; the entity that was behind Eaol’s status and power; what he was the avatar of. This creature easily surpassed greater mages and could only be matched by a sage. Even if he were free and at full strength, defeating it would be a long shot for someone like Eric.

  “Tasio, Tasio, Tasio!”

  The Trickster appeared over the elemental. He held up a finger to forestall Eric’s protests.

  “Wait for it...”

  The elemental shimmered. Beneath Eric’s heart, lungs, and forehead, four earth lances emerged from the ground. Their points shimmered as the elemental forged them into obsidian.

  “Tasio...”

  “Wait for it!”

  The lances sprang. Eric flinched and four arrows dissolved them. They were fired from a girl far to Eric’s left. She was semi-solid and stood with one foot on the ground and other halfway in another world entirely. She wore a priestess habit that was altered to look halfway like a princess-style gown with its petticoats, ribbons, and lace. Over her face was a transparent veil instead of a hood. She pulled at the foot on the other side, but it was stuck. Instead, she pointed her bow at the elemental and said, “Attack!”

  A golden-brown wolf appeared at her side and tried to lunge, but she too was stuck. Her hind legs refused to cross over. She looked at her mistress and whined. The girl groaned and nocked another arrow to her bow. The elemental struck first.

  It impaled her with four spears of elemental earth energy. She screamed and her body flickered. When the attack ended, her body was fully solid, but her leg was still stuck. The elemental followed the attack with four spears of solid earth. Though they made her cough up blood, the cleric didn’t scream again. She extended her arms to draw the bow around the four spears and released her own projectile.

  Soaring through defenses both physical and magical, it struck the mana breed dead center. Chaotic energy sparked and then it exploded, showering magical debris all over the field. This generated more gnomes and smaller elementals.

  The cleric loosed an arrow into the sky and it split into dozens. These rained down on the field and vanquished every hostile spirit. Then she placed her hands together and intoned a prayer of exorcism. It charged the ground around her with holy power and transformed the field of battle into a field of peace. Only then did the attack stop, but her leg was still stuck.

  She tugged once more, transformed her right hand into a cleaver, and cut it off. She bit her lip. A new one replaced it moments later and she was free to run to Eric. Over her shoulder, she gave the command “Come!” and the wolf nodded. With its mistress fully in the world, she was able to wedge herself clear. Together, they dug Eric out of the earth.

  “Please don’t leave the village! It’s the only place you’ll be safe.”

  Eric knew she was scowling at him despite the veil obscuring her face. It was transparent but still concealed her identity. Any personifying features were generalized enough to be any teenaged female elf.

  “Arf!” The wolf smacked him in the face with her forepaw.

  “That’s how she shows she likes you!” the cleric said quickly.

  “Really?” Eric asked skeptically.

  “No. Anyway, I’m sorry I’m late. I was in another world fruit and I had a plan to get back here in time, but I got lost. It’s hard to navigate Noitearc because it doesn’t do what you would call...directions: ‘Go fifty miles and turn right onto firestone road.’ No, nothing like that!”

  By now, the girl and the wolf had released both his arms and one of his legs. Then they stopped and stared at him.

  “As soon as we leave, Gruffle the reaper is going to attack you. That’s why we’re going to escort you back to Dnnac Ledo. You must stay there until we say it’s safe to come out.”

  “I’ll look out for him and stay away from highly spiritual places and… ow!”

  “Don’t do that,” the girl told her wolf halfheartedly. “You don’t see me doing that, do you? Back to the point, I was told by a reliable source that I can’t trust your word to stay safe. So you can either stay in the village or die.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  Her veil swayed as she shook her head. “Of course not! I would never threaten you! It’s a warning. Mortals never last long when Death puts a bull’s eye on their back. I can’t be here every time you need me and you know how helpful Tasio is,” she turned a stink eye on The Trickster himself, who was still floating nearby, “even when he desperately needs you.”

  “Alright, I’ll go back.”

  Her smile was so bright it could be seen through her veil. “Great!” She released his second leg and helped him up. Then she walked ahead of him while the wolf stayed behind. Their escort made Eric feel so safe that he returned to human form without thinking about it.

  “By the way, Priestess, when did you start wearing this princess look?”

  “That’s a good idea!” the cleric said. “It’s short, indicative, and people will stop mistaking me for a princess. It’s gotten me kidnapped many times when I’m pulled into such worlds. I’m working on a more practical habit.” She reached into her neckline to retrieve a tiny pouch, opened it up, and said, “Cinder, what do you think of the alias ‘Priestess’?”

  A high and clear voice from within the pouch said, “It’s good, but I prefer to call you ‘godmother.’ At least make it ‘benevolent priestess’ or ‘god-like priestess.’”

  “Those would be limiting,” the cleric said. To Eric, she explained, “It’s either this or apron strings because she has a tendency to get in trouble.”

  Eric didn’t say anything more. He had enough to ponder on the way back. Once inside the Chaotic Curtain and the ring of tree sentinels, and she checked that the area was closed off to the Door of Death, and Tasio promised to babysit him for the time being, the newly dubbed “Priestess” took her leave of Eric.

  “Have you had a chance to cool off?” The Trickster asked. “If you really don’t want to do this, then I could always find someone else. There will be consequences for either choice, so I advise you to think carefully before you make your decision.”

  Eric breathed long and deep. Then he let it out slowly. “If I did this, would I be like the other avatars?”

  “Yes, you would. They are the template I’m using for you and Kallen.”

  Eric leaned against a tree. He twirled his staff around. The crystal and the lights within, the staff, and his entire reason for being in this world were all planned in advance by Tasio the Trickster. Tasio helped him as a stepping-stone to Chol, Chaos’ Tool.

  Eric thought of the other Tools: Eaol, an orc whose skin was rock itself. Fiol, a woman with hair and eyes containing fire. Wiol was only halfway physical with the rest as air itself. Eric had never seen Waol, but he could imagine a being of blue skin and gills that always seemed to be sweating.

  What will I turn into if I accept the role of Chaos Avatar? What would I be doing? Would I be manipulating people with convoluted plots? Or would I be helping them grow? Overturning tyrants and spreading knowledge...

  All four elemental lights glowed brightly in the dim light. They whirled around his spirit light. It was hypnotic. With a soft thud, Eric fell asleep.

  Chapter 8 “Two Roads Diverge in a Yellow Wood”

  When Eric woke up, he was lying in dense grass. Trees grew all around him and held their fruit above his head. The sun’s rays shone through them and lit them up. Around the trees were plump bushes and beautiful flowers. Everything around him was in full bloom.

  This again? What world has Tasio dropped me into now?

  Amid the chirps of birds and rustle of the wind, a voice reached Eric’s ears. It was a song about the beauty of nature and the change of the seasons. It instantly p
ut Eric on his guard. The last time he heard angelic singing in a forest, it was an illusion from a Venus flytrap. The fact that he couldn’t see the singer made him all the warier. Getting to his feet and pushing aside the foliage, he made his way through the forest. The song guided him towards its source until he arrived in a clearing.

  He found a cottage. It stood next to a river, which gurgled in time with the singer’s melody. In the yard between them there were a loom, a pair of scissors, a tapestry, and the singer.

  It was a girl wearing a blue dress and white apron. Her golden-brown hair and pointed ears marked her as an elf, but there was more to her than that. She possessed a radiance and elegance that Eric had only seen in celestial creatures. She stopped only momentarily to drink from the river. The music’s pause caused Eric’s attention to shift to the design in her loom.

  Two men were ambushed in a town. One of them lost his crown and the other lost both of his arms. They had no choice but to flee into a forest. The next section showed them braving its dangers. Just then, Eric heard a scream. The crownless man in the tapestry had been bitten by a Venus flytrap. Eric heard the sound of metal clashing and the tapestry showed the plant monster cut in half. Then the pair stumbled into the clearing.

  A chill swept through Eric as he watched them approach. The man without a crown carried the man without arms on his back. He was tall and strong, but fatigue, injury, and despair bent him forward. His companion moaned with pain and fever. Both of them dripped blood from clothes saturated with it.

  Eric called to them and they ignored him. He grabbed the less bloody man’s shoulder and his hand passed through it.

  “Hold on a little longer, my friend,” the crownless man said. “We have found a cottage.”

  The armless man groaned in response.

  Two feet away from the elven girl and her loom, the man without a crown gently lowered his companion. Then he fell to the ground himself.

  “Dear girl, I beg your help. My friend is badly injured. If you would let us use your home and any herbs and bandages you possess, I promise to repay you.”

  The girl arose from her loom and knelt next to the man without arms. Placing her hand on his chest, she took a breath and blew it out. A bolt of golden-brown light shot into and engulfed him. The light washed over his wounds and poured out his arms, regenerating them in seconds. The crownless man watched in awe.

  “How the Abyss did you do that?!”

  The girl said, “Come inside. You must be exhausted.”

  The next events flew by and Eric saw the two men live as if in a montage. The crownless man learned reading and writing, philosophy and statecraft, the use of an ax and basic magecraft. The blood-haired man differed only in that he trained with the sword and an unusual form of magic.

  The girl looked surprised at the blood-haired man’s developing powers, then she encouraged their growth. Years passed. The two men grew older, but the girl remained the same. While they trained, she drew a second tapestry. Its theme was a butterfly on a clear day.

  The fast-forward stopped in the same season it began. The girl placed a hand on each man’s weapon and an orb of golden-brown fixed into the pommel of each.

  “Use your spirit as your weapon, and your spirit will shape your weapon.”

  “Dear girl, I am eternally gratefully for all you have done for us,” the crownless man said. “May I know your name so I may thank you properly?”

  The girl smiled impishly and shook her head. In a flash of light, she disappeared and her home went with her. The cottage, the loom, and every other trace of her presence vanished. The only exception was the orbs the two men carried. They bowed their heads, performed a ritualistic gesture, and then quickly left the suddenly overgrown area.

  With the help of their magical knowledge and weapons, the two men rallied an army and overthrew the tyrant that drove them out in the first place. This victory was sealed by the marriage of the tyrant’s daughter to the new king. That tyrant was then assassinated and the blame placed on his right-hand man to hasten the dissolution of his powerbase. However, the dead man was still present at the wedding so he could formally give away the bride and the formerly crownless man used the occasion to claim that he could bring back the dead.

  Next to this audacious king stood the blood-haired man. He stood at attention with his sword ceremonially pointing at the ground. The blade had grown in length, as if alive, and turned the same color as its wielder’s hair. That’s BloodDrinker!

  “All hail Arthur the Wise, King of Aragon!” the crowd cheered. “All hail Luke the Bloody, Champion of Aragon!”

  Arthur’s son became known as Arthur the Great for creating a vast empire. Wherever he campaigned, he spread the story of the girl who empowered his father and the teachings of that girl spread even farther. Equally famous were the elite mage corps Arthur the Younger trained for troublesome targets. Under the Arthurian dynasty, the land was a hive of magical activity.

  The scenery blurred and Eric found himself in a barren field. The girl stumbled through it. Her dress was growing flowers in places and ice in others. Fire and water randomly shot out her ears and her hair was frizzled with electricity. Each step cratered the ground as if her feet were as heavy as mountains. All over her body, chaotic energy crackled.

  “Yes, my lady. I am satisfied with what I have accomplished,” the girl said with certainty. “There is but one task remaining and then I will return to you.”

  The girl threw her arms wide and exploded. The massive release of energy seared the empty field and rained down for miles in every direction. Plants of all natures sprang up and storm clouds gathered to nourish yet more plants still clinging to life. Drought ended and famine averted, the local people feasted and celebrated. The overturning of their fortune gave them strength and hope enough to fight off a mysterious swarm of monsters. Their food and water grew on the fringes of a Class “B” Chaotic Zone.

  The world around Eric dissolved into darkness. Then slowly, gradually, areas lightened until grey stone became visible. The area became lighter still, as moonlight shone on the landscape. Eric looked at his new setting and saw cliffs to either side. A great clamor reached his ears and he walked over to the cliff face to see what caused it.

  Below was a fortified town looted by an army. Buildings burned and walls tumbled. The smoke, cries, and clashes reached Eric even on his high perch. The world zoomed in and he was among the carnage.

  “Take whatever you want, my brethren!” the leader said. They were a vaguely mammalian creature. Four extra limbs grew from the joint of the original ones, blubber oozed from their pores, and they had bird feathers instead of fur in some places. “We are the chosen ones of Lady Chaos!”

  They were a gruesome sight, this demon army. All of them were similarly disgusting and made more so by the remains of their victims. They cut off heads for trophies and carted off entire bodies. Some of the latter were still alive and pleading.

  “Curse your misfortune, inferior beings,” the demagogue proclaimed as defenders were slaughtered. “The Mother of All Things has not blessed you with power like she has us.” Their lurid work done, the eight-legged mammal led his army out of the town and to their next target. Eric saw their march turn into a mad dash as they crossed another mountain. Behind them was another elven girl and she too glowed with chaotic power, but unlike the first, there was no elegance. This was savagery at its purest.

  “Run, abominations! Lady Chaos is offended by the deformity of your bodies and the wretchedness of your souls! She has chosen me to exterminate you!” Following this declaration of genocide, she laughed wildly.

  Throwing out both her hands, she fired bolts of pure chaos. Those that were not instantly obliterated were mana-mutated a second time, thus becoming even more monstrous. She became progressively monstrous herself, until she was indistinguishable from the demons she pursued. Now a gargantuan turtle with a rubber tail, segmented and partly metallic shell, and the head of a bee, she forgot the demons and
simply thrashed around the landscape.

  A trickster appeared above her, and it was a trickster that Eric knew well. Shoulders dropped and head bowed in failure, he sighed. He pulled a checklist from within his traveling cloak and marked something off. Taking one last look at the monster, who had by now leveled the mountain, he vanished.

  However...

  He didn’t notice one of the flying demons swoop in and pry off a loose scale. The rubble landscape blurred and Eric saw this demon fashion a shield from this scale. The scene rapidly shifted to instances where the demon used it in defense of himself and his family from human mages. The shield eventually landed in the hands of a human warlord, who had many similar pieces of armor. Finally, it came into the possession of a certain dragon-like warrior maid, who used it to guard the young strays in her lair.

  That’s the Mother Dragon! Does this mean Aegis’ shield comes from—

  Suddenly, Eric found himself under water. In front of him, a school of fish people known as Logusk was listening to someone playing a harp. It was the most beautiful music Eric had ever heard and this Logusk was teaching it to all those gathered around her. She even spun harps out of water for those that had none. Looking closer, Eric noticed these songs were more than pretty; they were powerful. This blue-skinned chaos avatar was teaching musical magecraft.

  The scene changed to a Logusk charming a human with these songs. In what sense of the word, Eric couldn’t tell. Either way, through a chain of events involving much drama, action, and comedy, it led to marriage. This marriage led to an empire spanning both land and sea. Eric saw both species competing with and learning from each other in concert halls built for these purposes.

  Time passed and the Avatar of Chaos swam to the bottom of the ocean. Chaotic sparks ran the entire length of her body. She confirmed that she was alone and lay down on the rocky floor. The sparking eased and she sighed in relief.