Enmity of Atlas

Out of the corner of his eye, Trenton saw Geren land gently on the cliff's edge, having presumably just jumped back up. He was normal sized again, a couple fresh scratches now accenting his figure, but overall still fresh. His eyes scanned over the battlefield for a moment, before finally landing on the boys.

“Oh, that is a lot of blood,” Geren said wide eyed, leaning back over the cliff to shout, “Walibeld! The boys are injured! Get up here!”

Right next to Geren, Walibeld landed. Unlike Geren, he wasn’t injured at all, not even the slightest hint of damage on him. He was, however, soaked in crawler blood, an unfortunate side effect of killing so many creatures barehanded.

Walibeld sighed, “I had a feeling this might happen. I won’t be able to fix that for some time,” Walibeld said, nodding towards Trenton’s right arm, “but I can deal with the most life threatening injuries now.”

Walibeld threw his arms to the side, the familiar glow of his aspect bathing over them, and started to cast some unknowable spell. After a moment, 10 translucent green sprites appeared, little round creatures, which floated next to Walibeld. They swarmed Trenton and Leo, burying their stubby little limbs into the boy's deepest cuts, slowly sowing together their most grave injuries from the inside out. It reminded Trenton of Mave’s nature magic, now given manifest.

“The sprites are infused with the essence of nature magic. I could heal you myself, but it’s easier to let them attend to you. They happen to be quite adept,” Walibeld said.

Geren looked at Trenton, his head cocked to the side, “I’m surprised you’re holding yourself together so well. I’ve seen soldiers lose their minds at wounds half as bad,” he said, smiling wide, “that’s some good fighting spirit! I like it!”

Trenton looked down at his arm, “Actually, it doesn’t hurt that much…it’s kind of numb. I remember a similar thing happening when I was attacked back in Aria. My leg was trapped under some rubble, but I didn’t really feel anything. I was able to hack my leg off pretty easy, and I don’t remember feeling any pain at all when he grabbed my heart. I guess I didn’t really think about it at the time.”

“Could be the adrenaline keeping you up, but it shouldn’t be able to block out all pain. Keep an eye on that,” Geren said, leaning down to inspect Trenton’s arm closer. “Damn, that’s really something,” he looked over to two spires off in the distance, “and a ballsy play, too. I can’t say I know many who would be willing to sacrifice their own body to win a fight like that,” he said, almost in awe. He extended his hand towards Trenton, “I like you! What’s your name, kid?”

“Trenton Boulregaurd…or maybe just Trenton. I’m not really sure anymore,” Trenton replied.

“Trenton, whenever this mess gets sorted out, you should come be a general. I’ll put in a good word for you,” Geren said, his voice exuberant.

Trenton took Geren’s hand with his left, shaking it with a firm grip like he was always taught. But, Geren’s grip happened to be a lot stronger than his own, Trenton practically being lifted off the ground with how vigorously Geren shook his hand.

“Why me? I couldn’t even handle a couple dozen crawlers without maiming myself, but you took out that massive one like it was nothing. I haven't the make of a general,” Trenton said, withdrawing from Geren.

“Good soldiers aren't born, they’re forged. And, you’d be surprised how many of the strongest people on this continent had pasts not dissimilar to yours. For whatever reason, tragedy seems to make a soldier more than any training ever could, and you’ve already seen more than your fair share. The way I see it, you’re set to not simply stumble your way through this, but to fight your way out, tooth and nail. And if you come out on top, which I think you will, you’ll be a greater man than even I,” Geren nodded to Walibeld, “hell, I wish I could say I had Walibeld at my side when I was young,” he laughed, a bold sound amidst the odd quiet. The birds must have fled from the loud noises of the battle, “perhaps then I wouldn’t have seen so many of my comrades die,” he stood, looking at Trenton and Leo on the ground, seemingly contemplating something. “Y’know what, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Maybe it’ll bolster your confidence. Y’know the Conqueror, big bull guy, one of the strongest beings in existence, technically my boss, him? Well, he’s lost more than you could imagine. Practically everyone he’s ever known died a horrific death, most of them right in front of him. He wasn’t always the symbol of strength he is today, and he wasn’t able to save everyone,” Geren stopped, looking at their concerned faces, “which is to say, even though he used to be weak, he’s now really strong,” he added hastily. “Look, my point is, you aren't anything special right now. It’d be absurd if you were, but I think you have potential, both of you. And, my support is with you,” he opened his deep pocket, pulling out a small coin like trinket, “if you ever stop by Dasellium, show this to the guards. It should get you into the inner layers of the city, no questions asked. We’ll meet up, and I’d like to hear all about your adventure when we do.”

Trenton took the coin, wondering where to store it when it, too, disappeared into a blue spray of particles. Weird.

“Tragedy breeds warriors…I never thought about it like that. Thank you,” Trenton paused, taking a second to mull over his words. “Oh, and weren't you going to contact the Conqueror?” Trenton said, struggling to his feet with Leo.

Geren scratched his head, “I was, but I think I’ll get a little further away now. The communicator emits a pretty strong magical signature, which might’ve been why the crawlers attacked. I’d not like to risk throwing you lot into another needless fight. Besides, I should have enough information to relay on my own,” Geren stopped, looking out the way they came, “I’ll be heading out now. I wish you all luck,” he turned to leave, but paused. “Right! I forgot to ask earlier, where exactly are you traveling to? I can’t imagine you’re just stopping in Wyrm’s perch.”

In response, Walibeld pulled out a surprisingly detailed map, hand drawn by the looks of it, and traced his finger along as he talked, “We’ll be stopping by a friend of mine before we stop at Wyrm's perch. From there, I hope to ride a ship up the Liafer, through Dasellium, through Zerital, and finally to Avar. We’ll have to travel through the mountains a bit, but it’s much safer than trying to head through Farlith’s Pass. Once we’re past the Thalian, I intend to take them to see Era at the Academy. I imagine he’ll have some valuable insights on this whole ordeal.”

“Not a bad idea, but traveling the Liafer is risky. A lot of ocean monsters actually use the river to try and make their way inland, for whatever reason. Because of this, many boats from Wyrm’s Perch never make it to Dasellium in one piece. Even just trying to walk adjacent to the river is dangerous,” Geren said thoughtfully.

“You’re right, but I don’t want to risk traversing the Desolate Cliffs. Even if we manage to get the right supplies, I’ve heard that Giant’s from the Thalian keep trying to cross it to get to Dasellium. Not to mention all the creatures living in the desert itself. I’d much rather risk traveling the Liafer,” Walibeld said, his voice resolute.

“Of course. I can’t imagine you’ll have much trouble regardless, what with your abilities. Just a word of caution if you try to take the Liafer, you’ll need to stay on constant vigilance. Some of those creatures can sneak right underneath your boat and capsize it before you ever even see them. Having a team on lookout at all times is your best bet,” Geren said, looking up at the sun overhead. “Anyway, I really should be going now. Take care, and let me know when you land in Dasellium!” Geren said, waving goodbye as he bounded off into the distance.

After their wounds had healed enough to not be immediately dire, the three continued down the path they were traveling before they got interupted, the sprites still attending to Leo and Trenton as they walked. Some hours later, they made camp in a little clearing, Leo and Trenton settling in the best they could with their injuries stuffed with mending clay, a gift from the sprites before they disappeared.

“I’ll give you two a couple days to heal before we start any serious training. A real fight is far better than any sparring session anyways. Oh, and I’ll see to that arm in a couple days, Trenton. I’ll have to save up the energy to cast the spell,” Walibeld said, stoking the fire with a steel rod he pulled from his deep pocket.

“That’s fine. It still doesn’t hurt, anyway,” Trenton said, looking down at his mangled arm. Why didn’t it hurt?

Walibeld made another quick makeshift cast, slipping it over Trenton’s right arm when he was finished. It wouldn't help much given the state Trenton’s arm was in, but it at least served to cover it from the outside world, a minor protection if nothing else. The rest of the night was spent eating, organizing guard shifts, and chatting the hours away, the standard fare for most of their nights spent traveling. Eventually, they decided to go to bed, Trenton taking the first shift, Leo taking the second, and Walibeld taking the last two. During his time on shift, Trenton was able to take some solace in reading through the weird book he’d been given. The second he’d thought about how to get it back, it appeared in his hand in another flash of blue particles, almost like he’d never even let go of it. He opened the book, thoroughly reading through every passage he could find, trying to find some sort of cohesion in them as well as looking over one he didn’t recognize. Finally, when his watch was over, a completely uneventful night, he woke Leo, staying up until he was sure Leo was fully conscious. He went to bed, the rest of the night following the same peaceful pattern, even in his absence.

At the crack of dawn, Trenton was woken by a gentle shake. He opened his eyes to see Leo standing over him, his face a sullen mix of toleration and aggravation. The wounds must’ve been getting to him. It can’t feel good to wake up in pain. Trenton easily slipped out of his sleeping roll, feeling oddly spry. He yawned, covering his mouth with his arm to stifle the sound. But when he removed his arm from his face, he saw Leo and Walibeld staring at him slack jawed.

“How did you just do that? Your arm should still be completely shattered!” Walibeld remarked, his eyebrows thrown high.

Trenton looked down at his arm. Sure enough, unconsciously, he’d just used his right arm to stifle his yawn. It didn’t hurt in the slightest, and moved just as smoothly as it always did. He tore off the cast, revealing his arm to the small gathered party. It was in perfect condition. There wasn’t even a scar left behind. In fact, as Trenton moved around, he noticed his entire body felt incredible, no mark of the prior day's fight left anywhere on his skin. Meanwhile, looking over at Leo, he was still completely wrapped in gauze, the newly applied layer still fresh with blood.