SS [62] Different

Aurelius spent much of the last few days practicing his aura control. He meditated on passing primana around and through his dantian. Unlike a mana core which is what most people possess, elves and goblins had a mana matrix. Aurelius did not. He had a primana core which is not as fluid nor decentralized as the mana matrix would have been. It was further changed after he became a cultivator which moved the core to the dantian.

He had not realized how different it made him from the rest of his kind until he saw his kin for the first time. Their bodies were permeated with magic in a way he had never seen in any other being. To his senses it was as if he could tell their place in the magic world just by sight alone. 

Tanisha did not share this extraordinary, almost innate understanding of the elves. She could sense their aura of course but not see them in the same way he could. Once he could see it he could not unsee how differently the world moved around him. He tried to hide his aura, afraid that they would not only see monster-like qualities of primana, but also how different he was from them in every other way.

Then came Jocasta, a competent tamer mage that peeled back the layers of his purposeful obfuscation as if his training meant nothing. Aurelius was under no illusion as to the powers of someone in that discipline. Tamer magic was all about reading the magic flowing through the bodies of others. Jocasta wasn’t powerful but she was skilled. The fact that she was relegated to driver was honestly undervaluing her.

It was when she called him “Chaos One” that he realized that the elves saw through him just as easily. They were respectful of course but they were distant. He didn’t know how much of that was because of Bjorn, Tanisha or himself. He would like to think that he was normal but he didn’t know if he was. Elves couldn’t enter the Chaos Lands for long so their caravans avoided it. He on the other hand practically lived in the Chaos Lands. He had only just recently escaped from being trapped there for years.

He opened his eyes to find Anasuya sitting on his lap stealing his body heat like a scaly thief. She was half asleep and back into her true form. He reached an arm under her up as he stood and placed her on the floor near the rear tailgate. He opened the leather curtain so that she could sleep in the warmth of the sun. She barely stirred as she settled.

“Ana’s asleep.” Aurelius said.

Tanisha was still at her workstation doing something with the cold infusion basin. She had tried to explain it to him a couple of times but it sounded too complex for him. He didn’t retain a single thing other than it needed to be calibrated.

“Ah you are lucky then.” Tanisha responded distractedly. “Place her somewhere warm.”

“Already did,” Aurelius said.

He walked to the front of the wagon opening the curtain where Jocasta was humming to herself. She looked surprised that the curtain opened suddenly. Her gaze fell on him and there was a brief moment of hesitation. He couldn’t help but notice that her tail had stopped swaying and was now slowly wrapping around her. 

“Wanted to get some fresh air.” Aurelius offered.

“Of course.” Jocasta said.

“You mind?” Aurelius asked.

She quickly scooted over.

“Of course not. It’s your wagon. I am just here to help.” Jocasta said.

Aurelius sat down beside her and everything just became silent again. It was difficult to tell what the elf woman thought. She was covered head to toe, even her face and eyes. The only thing that Aurelius could read was her tail and what little he can get from her body language. She had not been much of a talker, only offering short curtasies when they met in the morning after hitching Duna and Smjor.

“So… are you happy to be going back to Postlumia?” Aurelius questioned.

“I have mixed feelings about it. It is a lovely place but… well we aren’t going to Subterrania thank the Divines. What about you? Family out there?”

“No, I am not from Postlumia.” Aurelius said.

“Really? Where are you from?” She asked.

“My family is from the Force Isles, or at least my adopted family.” Aurelius said.

“Adopted? You were raised by humans?” Jocasta asked.

“Yeah, since I was a baby, never got a chance to meet my elf parents,” Aurelius said. 

“Oh a baby, that must have been rough. Sorry for your loss.” Jocasta said solemnly.

“My loss?” Aurelius said questioningly.

“Your parents…” Jocasta hesitated. “Forgive me… are your adoptive parents… well, still alive?”

Aurelius’s gaze sharpened on her now.

“Yes. Why wouldn’t they be?” Aurelius questioned. 

“Because humans don’t live long… uh sorry. How old are you?” Jocasta questioned.

Aurelius was a little hesitant at the sudden flow of the conversation. 

“I am nineteen or at least that is what we think.” Aurelius said.

Jocasta sighed which sounded a lot like relief.

“Oh you look good for one hundred nineteen.” Jocasta said.

“No, nineteen.” Aurelius corrected.

“Are you saying ninety? I thought you were younger than me.” Jocasta said.

“Nineteen.” Aurelius slowed down the word.

Jocasta turned her full body to face him. No words came out, just sounds of confusion. He had to look at her tail which had fully wrapped around herself now. It took a few seconds for her to finally decide on what she was going to say.

“Y-y-your a baby.” She again struggled to come up with something coherent. “Its not possible. I thought you were at least seventy. Are you sure you are nineteen?” 

“Yes? Is that a problem?” Aurelius asked.

“Nineteen…” Jocasta whispered. “ Nineteen? Nineteen. At nineteen an elf hasn't even learned to walk. You should still be in diapers. You should still be nursing. There must be some kind of mistake. When your family found you, were you already walking? Maybe you were just older and they didn’t know.”

Aurelius frowned now, also totally confused as well. 

“No, what? From what they told me I was a newborn,” Aurelius said. “I feel like I am missing something here.”

“Umm… I do too.” Jocasta said. “Elves have extended development cycles far longer than most other races. We don’t start walking until our late twenties and that is considered a healthy development. At fifty we are considered children with a similar stage of development as a five year old human. There is rapid development after that. I am ninety-three. It is not possible for you to be nineteen.”

Jocasta looked him up and down.

“No… You've been driving this wagon. You read maps. You negotiate. You cast magic. You've been making decisions.”

“Jocasta. Jocasta stop.” Aurelius pulled his thoughts together. “If what you said is true, what am I?”

“Look you were young when they found you so… maybe they just didn’t know how old you were.” Jocasta sounded less confident. 

Aurelius was speechless and Jocasta sounded more and more horrified by the second. Aurelius stood up from his seat, his eyes going wide.

“It is just—” The words died on Aurelius’s lips. 

Jocasta kept talking and got faster and faster as she went. It was more than she had ever spoken to him but the words stopped registering. The world had already stopped making sense. 

His legs carried him away before he even made the decision to walk. Somewhere along the way he had dropped back onto his bed without the memory of how he got there. Just the subtle breathing of Anasuya nearby and a few silent swears from Tanisha as she worked away.

*** 

Aurelius wasn't sure how long he stared up at the curving leather roof, the wooden bows arching overhead like the ribs of some enormous beast. Every trouble in the world seemed to have crashed down on him all at once. He was actually glad that Jocasta had the covering over her face. He doesn’t know if he would have been able to handle the shock beneath them. 

Aurelius was pulled from thoughts when Tanisha suddenly appeared beside the bed. She shook his shoulder to get his attention. He wasn’t sure if she was talking to him earlier. When he looked at her face, the tense expression and furrowed brows he knew something was amiss. 

“What’s wrong?” Aurelius said as he sat up.

“Bjorn is distressed, something is going on.” Tanisha said.

Aurelius was already up throwing on his gambeson, grabbing his sword and shield. He didn’t have to be told twice that if something worried Bjorn then it was something he needed to be prepared for.

“Any idea what it is?” Aurelius questioned.

“No.” Tanisha said as she jumped out of the back. “At times like this I wish the bond would evolve so we can communicate through it. Only having emotions is inconvenient.”

“Jocasta. We are going to be right back, watch Anasuya for us too.” Aurelius called.

The front curtain opened. 

“What was that? Where are you go—why do you have your sword.” Jocasta questioned.

“Can’t talk right now.” Aurelius said. “Ana is asleep just make sure she stays put.” 

“I think someone should explain what is going on to—” 

Aurelius jumped out of the wagon back tailgate. He followed behind Tanisha who sped walked against the caravan.

“I am here we can get going,” Aurelius said.

Tanisha didn’t respond verbally, instead she just went from a fast walk to a brisk jog. However before they could get real speed Ismene slithered over to them. 

“Where are you two going?” Ismene asked, her eyes caught on Aurelius. “Armed.”

“We are going to check on Bjorn.” Tanisha said.

“Something happened to your familiar and companion,” Ismene questioned. “This is why I didn’t want them going alone.”

“Compainion? You don’t mean Soren do you?” Tanisha asked pointedly.

“Yes, they said they were fine hunting alone.” Ismene said. 

Tanisha looked at Aurelius. He recognized that look immediately. Somewhere in her mind Soren had already been found guilty.

“We don’t know what is happening Bjorn is just on alert more than usual. It could be nothing.” Tanisha said.

“I am not letting you two go alone this time.” Ismene said.

Ismene let out a sharp whistle. Moments later two dwarves came charging over atop fire drakes. These weren't the broad-backed pack drakes that hauled wagons. These were lean fire drakes bred for cavalry. Their riders looked no less dangerous, clad in runeforged armor and carrying weapons built for war. The only thing differentiating the two were their main weapons. One had a lance the other a claymore.

“These are Knock and Bolder they will be going with you.” Ismene said.

“As long as they can keep up.” Tanisha said.

“They can.” Ismene said.

***

The forest opened up into a large grassland. However the landscape was not what Aurelius focused on. No, it was the presence of chaotic mana from monsters that permeated the air like a rot in the otherwise normal hills. In the distance they saw it. A bolt of lightning hung frozen mid-strike, as though time itself refused to let it fall.

“What in the name of the Divines is that?” Bolder, the dwarf with the claymore said.

“A rift?” Aurelius said.

“That is where Bjorn is.” Tanisha said. “Go, I will catch up.” 

“He is not going alone.” Knock, the dwarf with the lance said. “We are ready.”

The drake beneath the man heated up, lines of power glowing through its limbs. Aurelius raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t let it distract him. He ran forward with a burst of speed that made the world blur. His primana coursed through every muscle, every bone and in every step. 

The distant lightning grew in size, the intensity of the corrupted mana became staggering. As they crested a second hill he saw the impact site. It was in the middle of a large village now the center of a battlefield. Smoke drifted across shattered cottages. Livestock ran wild between burning fences while monsters spilled into the streets below. All while monsters poured from the rift like water from a faucet. 

“Divines above.” Knock said.

“Don’t look at the rift directly, it will drive you insane.” Aurelius said.

Amidst the horror Aurelius analyzed. This was not a time to act blindly, he needed a plan.

He saw dwarves running up the hill on the far side. They were being evacuated. He saw the Soren man standing amongst those at the top of the hill. He was shooting from a bow made from energy down at the monsters that got too close to the fleeing inhabitants of the town. Each strike was precise, not some killing a monster outright, others injuring or staggering them long enough for a fortunate villager to escape.

He caught a glimpse of Bjorn between buildings in the village. He wasn’t using the majority of his magics. His fire would be dangerous to everyone, and his poison breath would home every monster on him like a beacon. He wasn't even trying to kill every monster. He was fighting as a distraction, throwing himself into every gap where the tide threatened to overrun another group of fleeing villagers. 

“You need to get out of here,” Knock said. “There isn’t anything we can do.”

Aurelius didn't even consider the suggestion. He pointed to the survivors on the other hill.

“Help them with the evacuation. We aren’t leaving these people to die.” Aurelius said

“I am here to protect you. Not to fight a monster tide.” Knock said.

“Either help them or come with me into the village, it is your choice.” Aurelius said.

He didn’t give Knock a second look as he unsheathed his sword and Flash Stepped into the fray. He understood what was going on and where he would be needed. Bjorn could keep them distracted but he was too large to go into most buildings to make sure everyone made it out.

There was no saving everyone. The village streets had not only monster corpses but those of villagers that did not make it. Seeing so many senseless deaths only hardened Aurelius’s resolve to help.

Unlike the first rift in Drakvik where all of the monsters were of the same type this was a cacophony of different monsters. They were fighting amongst themselves as much as they were hunting the inhabitants of the settlement. It was likely the only reason there were survivors this close to the rift at all. 

Many of them Aurelius could name but so many others were new to even his experience dealing with monsters in the Chaos Lands. 

A few buildings down from Bjorn he saw a family barricade themselves inside of a shop. Following them not one but six carrion saints. The tall monsters screamed out in the voices and cries from townspeople that had been killed during this raid. The carrion saints had already begun stitching the skin and faces of victims to themselves even as they banged against the door of the shop.

As the door collapsed inward Aurelius was already there in a Flash Step that placed him in the threshold before the first monster could barge its way in. His sword carved upward leaving trails of afterimages with his first strike the True Sword Canon. The sword art was quick but wide slashes designed for humanoid monsters to carve into their vitality as much as their flesh.

Monsters are notoriously known for their vitality and difficulty to kill. He had prepared for the inevitable follow up but the monster spit in half dying in a single strike. 

He didn’t have time to think, instead he moved on to the next one which had lifted its long arms to strike him. Needle thin claws whistled through the air as he ducked. The strike hitting the door frame and nearly pulling the entire building down with the impact. 

He shifted into the Imperial Sword Scripture, the agile art emphasizing flowing momentum over raw force. He leapt into the air over the next strike with a rapid spin. The blade came around and cut off the offending appendage. He landed and shot forward one strike aimed at a leg driving the monster into a tumble then a second aimed at the distorted approximation of a face, decapitating it.

The next monster didn’t even wait for the previous to hit the ground before lunging. Aurelius could have dodged it easily but it would have entered into the now open building with the screaming family inside. Instead he raised his shield. He focused his power into the Iron Mountain Stance, his most heavily relied on defensive technique. 

He expected a contest of might but instead the monster had bounced from his defense with so little resistance that Aurelius thought the monster had missed the tackle until he saw it scramble on the ground. 

He reacted instantly, his sword carved the monster to pieces when he returned to the True Sword Canon techniques.

Aurelius turned his attention to the remaining three monsters which were attacking him from all sides. However their attacks were slow, the power behind them felt light, and they left so many openings that he was carving through them in seconds.

He shook the blood from his blade when all three were vanquished. It was too easy to kill those six carrion saint. Sure the monsters from the first rift weren’t powerful either but they were a pack type monster that worked in swarms. Carrion saints however were evolved monsters, two years ago fighting one alone would have been a death sentence. Aurelius realized that he had spent so long fighting death androids underground that he had not realized how strong he had gotten. 

He shook himself from his revelation and looked inside the shop. 

“We have to go now there are survivors up on the hill. I will guide you there. The monsters aren’t going to stop!” Aurelius said.

Knock rode up beside them, his lance stained a deep crimson. Aurelius noticed a few monster corpses on the ground from the direction he had come. 

“I will take them.” Knock said. “I will come find you after they are secure.”

Aurelius nodded and turned to the next threat. He saw a child knelt down beside a crumpled form of someone. A quadripedal monster creeped around a corner, eyes focused on the easy prey. They were closer to Bjorn and Aurelius wouldn’t make it in time.

“Bjorn!” Aurelius screamed.

Or at least he tried. The sound of everything had gone eerily quiet. The world itself started to darken like the shadows yawned wider. Aurelius instantly knew the new threat. A dreamweaver stepped from a nearby alleyway. Its long serpentine arms had several of its lesser crawling stalker brethren impaled on the sword-like blade at the ends. It cannibalized them as it walked. Aurelius wasn’t concerned with the monster blind monster; he knew how to move around it but not while also making it to the child.

He pushed primana into his legs and lowered his stance. He had to get to the child first, he could deal with the dreamweaver later. He launched himself forward with every ounce of speed he had. As he grew closer to the Dreamweaver it noticed him and the blades shot forward to intercept him.

Before they could, an arrow of light slammed into the creature's side splitting it nearly in half in a violent spray of viscera. 

Aurelius couldn’t focus on that instead he pushed everything to the back of his mind. The only thing that mattered was the True Sword Canon and every step they brought him closer to the monster ahead of him.

The world slowed as he continued to speed up. Primana wrapped around his sword in a brilliant multicolored glow. A trail of light followed every movement as he crossed the distance in less than a heartbeat.  

The blade came down just as fast. The arc electrified as the monster's head was separated from the shoulders. Aurelius’s momentum carried a few more steps before his magic reduced the inertia. 

He rushed to the fallen figure. The child was still kneeling beside them, sobbing. They were dead, blood painted the road beneath them. Aurelius closed their eyes and picked up the grieving kid despite their protest. It took moments to cross the distance of the town up to the hill with his speed.

Soren gave him a glance and a nod but was more focused on the monsters below. The lifeshaper’s bow fired rapidly each time the world itself seemed to thrum.

“Someone take him.” Aurelius said to the weary faces of dwarves.

“Were is his mother?” Someone asked.

“There was a woman with him she didn’t make it.” Aurelius said grimly.

“I am his aunt. I will take him.” A different woman said.

Aurelius turned back to the village. Rose gold lightning had joined the fray. Tanisha was engaging the monsters alongside Bjorn. He glanced back at the villagers. Some weeping, some watching their homes burn down, others grieving family and friends. Most of the village had already fallen. Only a few dozen remained.

“What are we going to do?” A dwarven man said.

“I don’t know. So many have died.” Another said.

“Me and my friends are going to save as many as we can.” Aurelius said at first just to them but he got louder. “My name is Aurelius Lyns. My friends are going to help where we can. But this rift isn’t going to stop. All of you need to head towards the road going toward the border. There is a caravan from the Runeforged Consortium there. Tell them I sent you. That a Rift has opened and we need help.” 

He looked down at the grieving child and balled his fists. 

“Sorry I didn’t get there sooner. But what you are going to do now is survive.”

He turned back to Soren.

“Damn.” Soren said.

“Thanks for the assist with the Dreamweaver.” Aurelius said.

“I don’t need thanks for killing one of those ugly bastards. I got you back, go down there and save more lives.” Soren said.