Volume 1: Arc 3: Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE

PLEASE READ THIS.

At the end of the third arc (there are only 7-8 chapters) there is a descision I must make about the MC which will guide him hereafter. Right now, I can say the opinion about the MC is mixed. Some love him and some hate him for a variety of reasons. Above is a poll. There is an event at the end of the third arc which will change the MC for better or worse. Many things could happen due to the event he could become resolved/angered/smarter/more willing to trust. You get the idea, many things can happen as an effect of the event.

Since there are a variety of opinions about the MC, I want the viewers as a whole to give me a general idea about what you want from the MC. Thanks!

December 12, 29 R.E

Rajac whipped through the air as he barely held onto the contents of his stomach. His eyes blurred with the motion and dizziness overtook him as he was physically transported thousands of miles in mere seconds.

With a jolt, Rajac coalesced in a snowy-patch of forest. Immediately, Rajac’s feet buckled under him.

He remained against the fresh snow for a long minute, cooling his head against the freezing substance.

With his head mostly clear, Rajac rose, brushing the snow off his now, partially wet clothes and looked around.

Tall oaks blocked his vision of everything else. Their branches, half-covered in dead leaves, created the impression that the forest was sick with a blight. But Rajac knew better. These oaks were much the same everywhere in the Western Territories.

Come winter, they nearly died from freezing temperatures; but when spring arrived, they bloomed so laden with life, their upper-most branches skirted the ground.

Rajac smiled to himself as his heart warmed for the first time in a long-time. He was home.

Though, Rajac frowned slightly, he knew not where. The Western Territories was a large region; he could be anywhere. He breathed out slowly; his breath coalesced in the freezing air creating a thin mist.

Either he would need to start walking in a random direction or wait a few days until the snows cleared before finding a deer, pig, or wolf trail; all three were commonly known to reside on Creva Mountain and, it was likely, Rajac would find trails to Creva Mountain here. Though, it was also possible Rajac would stumble across a trail that led in a different direction. A direction towards one of these ‘dukes’ cities.

Rajac decided on the former option as, if he chose the wrong path, it would not directly take him to one of the ‘dukes’ cities. It would take him longer but, with his speed, it would not take more than a few weeks to search for the foothills to Creva Mountain. After all, it was the only mountain in the whole region.

For a week, Rajac braved the wind and the cold. That was, until a blizzard, unexpectedly halted his progress. He thought he had spotted foothills the day before and was traveling quickly towards the rises when the blizzard hit.

He had to take shelter under a steep hill while using tree branches as blankets. During the three days he spent under the hill, Rajac began to peruse the Skill Tome he had been given by Endal.

Primarily, Rajac was concerned about how he would bind the manifestation of his soul to an object. He still had no idea what he would use but he knew that he needed to decide soon. Frankly, it was a daunting task to decide. A part of him wished to choose the heart; the voices in the back of his head were adamantly in support of this idea and they constantly reminded him of it. But, Rajac was unsure.

If strength was the price for immortality, would he be weak, unable to protect his race for eternity? This thought gave him pause and he moved onto other options. His sword sounded appealing. Being able to cleave an opponent in two with a single blow would be a marvelous tool and, if it was as Endal said, that the soul would grow along with him. Again, Rajac hesitated. He remembered all too well how Muhal destroyed his sword.

And if his sword shattered, so too, would his soul. He considered object after object ultimately rejecting them all until he found, what he believed, the right one for him. The eyes. Ultimately, Rajac was concerned with the protection of his soul. He thought that if he put the soul within the nerves behind his eyes, it would stay protected far better than if he put it into an inanimate object or another part of his body, more open to attack.

Rajac considered, for a long time, putting his soul within the organ that manifested his magic but he ultimately decided to choose the eyes. His decision was threefold. Foremost, the organ that contained the source of his magic was located in the gut, a common area to be struck during a battle. An off-chance blow could end him before he knew what happened. The eyes were more protected and, if he was struck hard enough to pierce them, it was likely he would already be dead in any case.

Secondly, the Skill Tome listed the one-hundred most common objects a soul was bound to and the magic organ, called a Thismus in the book, was number two behind the mind. Eyes were not even ranked on the list.

Rajac had always been one to walk the less-traveled path.

Thirdly, the effects of binding the soul to the Thismus were noted with extensive descriptions in the Skill Tome. Thus, Rajac would have no sense of adventure or experimentation if he chose that option. There was no description on binding the soul to the eyes, thus, Rajac perceived it to be the more…interesting option.

Binding the soul to an object was a rather simple affair. Much like flexing the soul, one put pressure on the soul. However, instead of pushing down on it, Rajac needed to move it into the object that it would be bound to.

Easily, Rajac accomplished this. He pressured his soul into the nerves behind his eyes. Even though his soul was the size of lemon, there was only a slight discomfort behind his eyes that, he felt, he would get used to over time. Rajac completed the process by willing his soul to infuse itself into the eyes much like one would use magic.

This time, a sharp pain met Rajac and snapped his eyes shut. A few tears leaked down his cheeks as his nerves began to adjust themselves to the presence of the manifestation of his soul. Slowly, the pain receded and Rajac opened his eyes, blinking the pain away.

And he was surprised. There was no comparison between what he had seen when he closed his eyes and what he now saw. It felt as if he had been blind to the world and now, only now, could he see.

There were colors, once unknown to him, that shifted in his vision changing hue based upon the way he looked upon them. If he gazed of into the distance, he could see the shifting snow sweep through the wind at five times a greater distance than he once had and….What was that? He slit his eyes as he attempted to see through the snow.

A mountain rose out of the distance as if it was created from the snow itself. Towering over everything else, its peak lifted into the sky above, cresting far above the clouds. If Rajac craned his head, he could see where the tops of the clouds concealed the height of Creva Mountain.

Remarkable, Rajac thought to himself as he experienced his new eyes. And they would only get better with training. What a remarkable gift. Adventurers, hunters, and scouts alike would salivate over such a gift. To see enemies far before they saw you, near or far.

Rajac shook his head still in wonder as he reluctantly moved onto his next subject of interest. His Auxiliary Magic. Rajac began to scan the Skill Tome for information. On a page, near the back, Rajac found this.

Auxiliary Magic Creation Guide Clients should note that this guide is only available for those who have been granted the ability to create Auxiliary Magic based upon the benefits their race receives when reaching level 100. If you are not sure if you qualify, turn to your Race Information page.Directions: There are four types of Elemental Magic available to all races. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Certain races have an affinity for certain types of elements. Please check your Race Information page if you are unsure. Auxiliary Magic is the creation of new magic based upon the four Elemental Magics. This discussion does not include Tertiary Magic. If you wish to create Auxiliary Magic with a Tertiary Magic, please consult the next page.To create Auxiliary Magic, the Client must combine two or more Elemental Magics to create a new magic. This is done using both magics at once and melding them together.Clients should not that this can only be done once. So, it is wise to not make any mistakes.Listed below are a few examples of Auxiliary Magic that has been created in the past.Combination: Earth 20%, Fire 80 % Creation: Sulfuric MagicCombination: Wind 60%, Water 40 % Creation: Paralysis MagicCombination: Earth 25%, Fire 70 %, Water 5% Creation: Diamond Magic

Rajac stared at the page for a long-time lost in thought. If he understood, he could only create Auxiliary Magic once which meant that there was no room for experimentation. If he decided to combine earth, wind, and water he could come up with millions of possibilities. Even the smallest of changes in the amount of each would alter the creation so drastically that one minute he could be creating Healing Magic and the next, Saturation Magic.

For days, long after the blizzard abated, Rajac sat in a meditative pose thinking. Neither his hunger nor thirst distracted him as he looked for a solution. But, to his dismay, he found none. All he was left with was a gamble.

He could have gone the safe course and chosen one of the three Auxiliary Magics listed but, again, he decided against the path most traveled. As the Ventros had an affinity to Earth and Fire Elemental Magic, Rajac decided to create his Auxiliary Magic from both of these.

Reluctantly, Rajac willed both Earth and Fire Elemental Magic to form in front of him. Rather than the substantive forms they usually took, he formed them into two small, spherical balls hovering just above the ground. The Fire Elemental ball was slightly larger than Earth’s and everything Rajac tried to even them out only caused the disparity to seem even greater.

After the second day of trying to even out the balls, Rajac finally gave into frustration and willed the balls together. A bright flash of light shone from under the hill; if Rajac still held his past eyes, he would have been blinded by the light for quite some time. But, with his new soul-bound eyes, Rajac saw everything.

The two elements meshed together. Spinning like interwoven threads towards a nucleus at the center of the orb. Faster and faster they spun until, even Rajac, could not tell the colors apart. Finally, the orb stopped spinning, a molten hue emanating from the slate-grey orb.

Rajac reached out with his will and touched the orb speculatively. It was a sleek magic unlike any he had experienced before. It was not as wet at water or as swift as air. Truth be told, Rajac thought it might be some kind of metallic magic but he was unsure. He would have to test its properties thoroughly in the coming days.

But, that could wait. The blizzard had long passed at this point and he was becoming anxious to see his family whom he had long been without. Gently closing his Skill Tome, Rajac rose and began to walk briskly towards Cera Mountain; the solitary home of his family and race.

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