Transcendence?

***Norfolk, Sarn-Valley, Southern Col***

***Ascathon***

“That one is dead too!”

“This one is alive!”

“Kill him!”

“Aaaaah!”

“Get all of those heretics!”

“...”

Ow... shut up! They are so loud. My whole body hurts. I feel like I got crushed by something really big … one moment! Now I remember! The ship! The core!?

I open my eyes, but everything is dark. Is this the afterlife? Am I finally dead for good? No, there are voices. Sounds like the ship crashed directly into the enemy army. They are searching for survivors to finish them off.

Crap, I can't move my left side. “Lumis!” A small orb of light dives my surroundings into a dim light. Looks like the ship is a complete wreck. I don't recognize the engine room any more.

I am inside a small cavity, which is about a metre in height and two metres long. My left arm and foot are crushed under the remains of the mana core. The piezoelectric glass is broken and not an ounce of power remains.

The experiment was a failure. Looks like I have to rethink some of my theories about mana. Nothing blew up! I try to move and am rewarded with unimaginable pain. Then I place my left hand on the remains of the core and try to push, but the rubble doesn't move.

That's when I realize that my left is cramped into a fist. So I slowly open it and see a shining blue light. A small crystal is glowing in my hand, no bigger than my thumb. I have never seen something like it before.

It feels like pure raw power. Is that the result of my experiment? The mana which is forced to a higher density doesn't search for an explosive release, but becomes solid? “Hahahaha.” Who would have thought about that. All my calculations were wrong!

I tap into the small shards reservoir of power and am almost overwhelmed by the pure force behind it. The rubble on top of me lifts by a mere thought and I crawl out from under it. Then I let the stuff go and it crushes down again, creating a cloud of dust which forces me to cough.

For several minutes I lie there in the darkness and concentrate on a regeneration spell. Just the blue glow of the small crystal lights the cavern. I think about the implications of this new discovery. If I can reproduce these crystals, I can completely pass on the production of the dangerous mana cores.

Again, I tap into the well of power inside my fist to quicken my regeneration. I hear bones snap into place and I feel the awful crunching, as fingers are bending back into their original position.

In the meanwhile the sounds outside grow louder and I become aware of distant explosions. Probably my fleet is avoiding to hit the crash site.

I wait for another five minutes until I am sure that the healing spell has done its work. Then I sit up and concentrate my senses on the outside.

There are people swarming around my ship. I feel their auras like small small flames dancing all around me. It's somehow strange, did my senses get sharpened by this accident? No, it wasn't an accident! It was sabotage!

But now I know the faces of this mysterious enemy. Their little game can't go on much longer! … If I survive. Again, I bath in the power of the small shard in my hand. What should I call it? It looks like a crystal, but it's pure mana. A mana crystal?

But I am getting distracted. The flames look like soul-fires. Did I somehow achieve something by fusing my soul with the mana of the core? A strengthening? I reach out for one of the weaker souls, probably a mere soldier without any magical ability.

The flame wavers a bit, but I can't influence it further. Anyway, just influencing it from this distance is a tremendous feat, compared to what I was capable of before.

Then I become aware of the strange web all around me. It's known to me, though not with this brightness. Again I reach out for it but achieve nothing. I guess solving that mystery too, was asking a little too much.

My attention returns to my current situation. Let's think about it. I am caught in the middle of a huge hostile army and I got a sudden unexpected power upgrade. Hmmm. I clench the fist with the mana crystal tighter and start to grin with glee.

~Time to go on a rampage!~

I wanted to vent my stress for a long time and now is the perfect chance! The last time I got to play was at the ball of Fellmar! That was ages ago.

Without a thought, I tap into the vast power reservoir of the mana crystal and spread my hands while thrusting outwards. A shock-wave blows the wreckage around me apart and I get the first view on the crash site.

My ship isn't much more than a big pile of wood, looking like it's ready for a bonfire. What did I expect after it fell from the sky. I was really lucky that the remains of the mana core formed a cavern for me. Maybe that was divine intervention too?

A huge army is standing all around the wreckage like the sea. There are banners from Mislow and the Inquisition. Everyone's eyes are glued to me.

“Looks like there are more than I can handle.” I tap my chin in thought. The crystal may be a huge power reservoir, but there are still tons of enemies. Well, I can't do more than as much as I can. And if I think too long, they will get over their shock.

“Then let's start the battle for survival!”

I call out as loud as I can and jump down into a sea of spears and other weapons while wrapping myself in a barrier. The enemy soldiers actually scrambled to clear my landing zone! Was my entrance really that frightening?

Without losing any time, I whirl around and cast Inferno. There are no allies nearby, so I will train my best area of effect spells.

A pentagram appears under my feet and a circle of fire appears around me. Then the ring of fire starts to grow fast and expands as it touches and burns the soldiers around me. Inferno is a nasty magic, because it feeds on everything it touches and consumes not only physical materials, but mana as well.

But there are many mages under the army and here and there are pockets of properly shielded survivors.

The wreckage of the ship behind me became a proper bonfire and I start my next spell while beginning to run. Attack magic is being activated all around me as the enemy mages start to wake up.

“Lumis Lux Eternal!” Take that! A small sphere of light forms above my palm and I thrust it upwards. Then I drop to the ground and squeeze my eyes together while shielding them with my arms.

Everything is dark, but then a bright flash turns my vision red. The spell is so bright that I am not able to shield my eyes completely against it while facing the ground. I feel my skin burn where it is exposed to the light. A heavy sunburn is the least I can expect from camping directly under my own spell.

Explosions and sizzling sounds erupt around me. My enemies misfired their spells after being blinded by a light, brighter than the sun.

I look up and a few dots dance through my vision. Even though I prepared myself, the spell still almost fried me, so I cast regeneration on myself to get rid of the itchy feeling on the exposed parts of my skin.

A look around confirms that almost all of my enemies in the surroundings went blind. They are stumbling and crawling around like in a zombie movie. “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man shall be king! MWAHAHA!”

I start hurling fireballs and ice shards around. Fired up by my attacks, some idiots start to cast magic blindly. Soldiers start to stab their weapons around in fear of being the next victim. Utter chaos breaks loose as enemies who weren't blinded start to deal with the rogue elements.

Suddenly an ice shard hits me in the chest. The impact drives the air out my lungs and I am thrown backwards. But my barrier prevents serious damage. I land on my back and take a few breaths before sitting up. I shouldn't get overconfident.

Three familiar faces greet me. It's Tendril Arenzien, my father. Andrus Arenzien, my older brother by two years is to his left and my second older brother by three years is to his right. His name is Areth Arenzien.

I pat my chest to get the dust off. “That was dangerous! You could have killed me if I hadn't been protected by my barrier.”

“We will end this now! Once and for all.” Tendril points a hand at me and I feel his mind trying to invade my own. I evade the attempt by concentrating on myself. A basic exercise for mind magicians, but actually a very complicated task.

“You know that I don't really care about what you think father? I suspected that you might join this war. But to think that both of my brothers are here too. It's almost like a family reunion! Just the female members are missing.” I get to my feet again.

“We will take good care of your slave wife.” Areth grins at me with a slimy expression.

“And your daughter will surely be fun.” Andrus joins him on an even lower level.

Did he just threaten me with hurting Sera? Unforgivable! I thrust my hand at them and a storm of ice shards is unleashed. They disperse in perfect synchronisation and avoid my attack.

Attack magic is coming my way from three directions and I simply rely on the power of the mana crystal to form a protecting barrier. I hit Areth with my shower of ice shards and they pass right through him. Clones? Phantoms?

I close my eyes and search for their souls. Obviously I got caught in some kind of mind manipulation. There are no soul-fires where they were beforehand. Instead there is one … Andrus!

A vicious grin appears on my face and I turn, jumping a step forward while wrapping my left hand in mana. Slashing at the empty air in front of me, I feel no resistance. Did I miss?

But then I look at my hand which is red with blood. And it's not mine. The air starts to blur and reveals Andrus, who drops to his knees in front of me. Looking down at his chest, he is staring in disbelief at the wound where my hand passed right through him.

Then he drops to the ground and lies still. I close my eyes again and concentrate on my surroundings. “~Come out, come out, wherever you are.~” I jump on my dead brother's back and turn in a circle while trying to find my father and my second brother.

They didn't come out of their hiding after Andrus failed to sneak up on me. But they are good! Probably I won't find them if they aren't too close. Andrus was always a dumb idiot. That's why father wasn't afraid of him becoming stronger than Areth and overturning the house.

I kneel down while trying to feel for my brother's soul. But it's already gone. “He was the spare part anyway? No need to shed a tear for him?” I call out to provoke them. No reaction.

So I grab my brother's body at his ankle and start dragging him towards the big bonfire which was once my ship. “You know. I always liked the tradition of burning the dead. You don't have to look after something troublesome like a grave!” I talk loudly to myself.

In Mislow there is a strong belief that you have to be buried with your face up into the sky. Otherwise you can't meet the gods to go in to your next life. Of course I know that this is bullshit. But my family members don't share this knowledge.

After I arrive back at the bonfire, I thrust the body of my brother into the flames with telekinesis and place my hands in my pockets. Still no reaction. I guess he really didn't mean anything to them.

Probably I should think about which spell they need so long to cast. I doubt that they are idle while watching me. My only chance lies in breaking their mind magic. And the fight in the vicinity is dying down. So I don't have much time.

I concentrate on the souls around me. But whatever my father and my brother are doing seems to interfere with all my senses. Suddenly I feel a sharp pain on my upper left leg and look down. Something cut me!

There wasn't any indication that one of them came close to me! Damn this mind meddling shit! Another cut opens on my shoulder and I turn around to grab whoever is there. My hand wipes through empty air. I take a deep breath and devise a plan while drawing power from the small mana crystal.

I start to channel the power of the mana crystal through my aura. If they are using mind magic, then they have to meddle with me through small, almost unrecognisable threads of mana. I just have to emit enough power to break those connections.

My body starts to emit a visible outburst of power while I am draining the mana crystal. In the distance, I see a group of soldiers approaching and thrust my hand at them. They are blown away like toys.

Then something breaks and it's like fog is lifting from my mind! I turn and see my father with a raised sword in front of me. The sword swings down, while my hand thrusts upwards and catches the blade. The strong battle aura, which I am currently emitting, protects me from being cut.

“One moment is deciding.” I whisper at him and cast my favourite shadow spell. It's a mind magic which lets the victim experience his ultimate fears. Everyone has something which he is afraid of, however irrational it may be.

For a moment my mind is fighting with his. He is experienced and blocks my attempt, but I know his tricks. He used them countless times against me. During all this time I found his weakness, but I never dared to use it as a child. It would have most likely meant my death if I had failed.

But there is no reason to hold back now. This is a battlefield and I am no child any more. So I stab my mind into his unguarded spot.

Tendril's expression becomes haunted, then he starts to scream. He turns in a circle and runs off into the big bonfire. “That's how the great master of the house of Arenzien meets his end.”

I ponder for a moment over the death of my father and analyze my feelings. But there is no regret. A hated person, who tried to kill me, died. There is nothing more to it.

I look around and finally find Areth standing in some distance. He is holding a sword like my father. A smile appears on my face and I walk into his direction. “Why are you so hesitant brother? Shouldn't you have helped your father.”

“Why should I have cared for someone like him? It's only beneficial to me if he dies. Now I am the head of the family!” He smiles at me.

“Not for long!” I start to cast a wind fist to deal with the last nuisance, which is called my family. But from one moment to the next, my body goes limp and I drop face first into the dirt. What's wrong with me!? I can't move at all!

“Father was an idiot to go close to you after we managed to apply the poison. But he wanted to deliver the final blow himself.” I hear Areth's steps coming closer.

A kick from him turns me onto my back and he places the tip of his sword on my chest while standing above me. “You know brother. To be honest I never really cared about what you do, or don't do. You gave up on our house and went away. That was the best thing that could happen to me. So who cares what you do up here in the north.”

“Bastard. I will haunt you!” I press the words out from between my lips.

He looks down at me. “But right now you are the leader of a heretical group and there is much fame to gain by slaying you.” He raises his sword to stab it down into my chest.

He is filling my field of vision and I curse him for having to see his ugly visage during the last moments of my life.

*Thud*

But then a big, man-sized stone hits him from the side! It's unspectacular, but fast and effective. A dull sound marks my brother's end. I force my eyes to the side and find my brother's upper body completely crushed by a big solid piece of rock. Nothing but his feet are looking out from under the thing.

Then another face appears upside down in my field of vision, completely filling it from above.

“~Hi, daddy!~”

“S... Sera?” What's the critter doing here?

~I pestered mom until we went to look for you.~

“I said you aren't allowed to crash your ship anywhere!” Celestial's voice shrieks into my ears and I wince. “Get up! We have to get out of here!”

“I can't … poison!” I force the words out of my lips.

Celestial gives me a quick check up, then she throws me over her left shoulder like a sack of rice while carrying Sera under her right arm.

“You are nothing but trouble!” She continues her rant while running at unbelievable speed towards the Southern Col.

The bombardment must have thinned the enemy army considerably. There isn't much which is obstructing her path.

I mull over the situation while being given a lecture by Sera on how important it is to check for poison once you are wounded. She assiduously ignores the fact that I couldn't have done anything about the poison anyway!

.