Lok’Ruc watched the war-bands of Lok’Sharush as they fought alongside the bands of Ran’Sharush and Eit’Sharush in silence. The clans had banded together to wipe the existence of the accursed beast-people off of the face of Laeris. The beast-kin have been hounding the tribes for his entire life, and now they were finally being put to heel. Lok’Ruc was happy for that, for now his clan would be able to prosper without the threat of mounted soldiers running his people into the ground. But there was something wrong, something that he could not put his finger on. He grunted to himself, and continued watching. Father Earth, why do you not speak? He asked for the thousandth time. I completed all that you have tasked me, and I did so willingly. Why are you silent now, in one of our greatest times of need? I will not be able to lead my people without your guidance. Please, Father Earth, speak to me. The Earth remained silent, not even the slight shifting in the plates could have been heard. Lok’Ruc sighed. I will continue on my path, and pray that this is the one that you require of me.

Lok’Ruc sifted through his Inventory, and pulled out something. What appeared to be a small white stick, he placed it into his mouth and, grabbing a torch at his side, lit the end of it. Inhaling the toxic smoke, he grunted in pleasure as he slowly exhaled. It was the final smoke that the Agent of Change, Jake, had given him. Lok’Ruc had promised himself to save it for a special occasion. Freeing his people from the yoke of the beast-people, he thought, was just such an occasion. Kneeling, he placed an open palm onto Father Earth, and began pouring mana into the ground.

“Gomorrah, son of the Father, holder of the World on his Shoulders, this one calls to you. Lend him your power, your unbreakable will of Stone, and assist with his task of rending Flesh from Bone.”

The earth shook, and a giant stone hand erupted from the ground. A second later, the other arm burst outward, and his Bound Elemental began to claw itself from the ground. Gomorrah had grown stronger since his training against the Agent of Change, but Lok’Ruc was not too sure of his Bound winning in a fight against him. Grunting, he stood back up and took a final drag on the cigarette. He sent Gomorrah towards the walls, ordering it to tear down the obstruction to his people’s freedom. It is a good thing that he is not here. If he were, I would be terrifi…

An explosion blasted over the sounds of the battle, and a roaring ball of deep purple and black flame escaped from within the keep in the distance. The fireball flew past the interior wall, and began to rocket up the streets towards the outer walls. Following behind it was a streak of silver, blasting ice at whatever the fire caught on, extinguishing the flames as soon as they appeared.

Lok’Ruc stared at the sight, cigarette forgotten on the ground. He used another thing that the Agent of Change had given him. While not material, it seemed appropriate in the situation. It was a single word, which the Agent of Change would use repeatedly.

“Fuck.”

_____________________________________________________________

New Spell Created: Hellfire Crash Due to your inability to navigate a simple keep, you got so fed up that you bathed yourself in flames and broke through a window. That’s rather sad. But hey, at least you made a cool entrance, right? And it even makes you move faster! Mana Use: 25 m/s

“Fuck off!” Jake closed the window, and continued to run. The flames carried him forwards, rushing past fleeing Beast-Kin. Unsurprisingly, they tended to run the opposite way when they saw a ball of purple and black flames bearing down on them. What shocked them even more, was after the ball of death and fire had passed, a small fox would run forward, expelling an ice aura from its body, removing the heat from the flames and snuffing them out. The Beast-Kin could have sworn that the fox was grumbling, growling to itself in a quiet voice. They assumed that they had lost their minds from fear, and began to panic.

The flames carried him onwards, and soon he was at the wall that ringed the city. Concentrating the flames to below his feet, he squatted for a second, and burst upwards in an explosion of fire and shattered stone. Arcing through the air, he crashed onto the top of the wall, defenders falling back from the heat of the flames.

Jake released the magic, somewhat out of breath from the run. An impact on the back of his head, ice cold, caused him to yelp. Turning around, he found Mizutsune glaring at him. An ice bridge, already melting, connected the wall to the city streets below. The fox glared at Jake for another second, before twitching his head backwards to force his master to look at what he had done.

Looking down into the city, Jake saw a black line of burnt stone and rubble, with Beast-Kin screaming and running with their hands flailing in the air. “Umm… Oops?” Jake grinned sheepishly, and Mizutsune shot another ball of snow into his face. “Fuck! Sorry, sorry. I got a little… carried away. I’m good now.”

Mizutsune huffed, and padded to the edge of the wall to look down on the battle. The defenders that were watching Jake broke from their blanked stares, and began to shoot arrows back down into the raging horde of Orcs.

Jake walked over to the edge, and whistled softly to himself. “That’s a lot of fucking Orcs. Probably six hundred or so.” A glint of metal and a whistling sound were the only warning before an axe flew above Jake’s head, cutting a few strands of hair in its path. “Shit!” Jake ducked down and, gathering a ball of flame in his hands, lobbed it to where he thought the axe had come from. The fireball exploded, sending flaming bits of Orc into the air. The surrounding Orcs quickly caught fire, and began to run around screaming. Hearing the effects of his attack, Jake lobbed a few more for good measure.

After a few moments of acting like a living motor, raining death and destruction on the Orcs, Jake poked his head above the parapet to see the effects of his troubles. The blackened scars of craters dotted the field, testament to his attacks. The Orcs, not caring, continued to charge at the gate in an attempt to batter it to the ground.

“Fucking hell, these fuckers aren’t stopping.” Jake grabbed a cigarette from his inventory, eyes darting quickly down to make sure that he lit it correctly. Looking back up, Jake came face to face with a boulder the size of a small house hurtling towards the wall.

“F…” Unable to even finish off one word, the boulder slammed into the wall with the force of a giant striking an anthill. The wall exploded into the city, sending shards of stone and bodies flying. Jake and Mizutsune were thrown from the wall and sent tumbling into the streets. Jake slammed into the cobblestone streets, bouncing twice like a stone on water before crashing into a single story house, breaking through the wooden exterior.

Mizutsune, as soon as he had been launched, began wrapping a wreath of hardened ice around his body. The fox-sicle skidded across the street, bouncing in between buildings and pieces of broken wall repeatedly before slowing down. When the cube of ice stopped its movement, it began to melt quickly. As soon as he was free from his icy prison, Mizutsune shook the remaining water and slivers of ice that clung to him off of his fur, then began to look around for his master.

The fox heard the sound of burning wood coming from a destroyed building, and it was quickly followed by an enormous eruption of dark flames. Out of the inferno, a figure stumbled into the open streets, left arm dangling uselessly at its side. Mizutsune darted over to the figure, whining pitifully at his master’s injured state.

Grunting in pain, and bleeding heavily from multiple wounds, Jake crumbled to his knees. “How… how the fuck am I still alive? That hurt like a mother fucker.” Grimacing in pain, Jake pulled a cigarette out and placed it into his mouth. Mizutsune yipped at Jake, giving him a disapproving glare. “Oh, go fuck yourself. I need this to help me think. Don’t give me that look.” Jake made a small flame appear on his thumb, and lit up. So, I can still cast spells. Jake inhaled the smoke, then exhaled with a grimace. Yeah, somethings definitely broken besides my arm. Fucking hell. Jake looked around, trying to find something that would help heal him.

Three horn blasts, long and deep, reverberated through the city. The sound was quickly followed by a bloodcurdling shout of triumph as Jake looked up to the wreckage of where the wall had been. Orcs streamed through the gaping hole in the wall, charging at the defenders that were attempting to close the breach.

The defenders were being pushed back, the might of the Orcs too great to be stopped by the rushed defenses. Jake grimaced, knowing what he had to do. “Mizu, keep them from getting to us.” The fox yipped, and started arcing large shards of ice into the breach, raining frozen death on the Orcs.

Jake took another drag, then spat out the cigarette onto the ground. Fucking hell, this is going to hurt. He had been experimenting with healing magic, and while he did find something that could work, it was also incredibly painful.

Jake closed his eyes and, gritting his teeth, began. With a scream of unimaginable pain, the kneeling figure was engulfed in an orb of black flame. The orb swelled and ebbed in a set rhythm, as if the flames were breathing. From the center, the screaming increased in intensity with each swell of the flames, and was soon loud enough to drown out the sounds of fighting. For what seemed an eternity, the screaming continued, and the orb slowly began to change.

The pitch black flames were slowly gaining a purplish hue, and the contractions and expansions of the orb began to slow. The screams began to peter out, until there was only an occasional whimper from within the flames. With a final expansion, the purple ball of flame erupted, sending a wave of flame over the ground and into the air.

The figure in the center had curled itself into a ball, and was panting heavily. Smoke and steam rose from its flesh, the charred remains of once fine clothing sticking to the body. With a grunt, the figure moved it’s once mangled arm, now completely healed, and pushed itself upwards, gasping for air.

New Spell Created: Flames of the Phoenix Aww, I thought that you would die there. Too bad. That sounded really painful, but at least now you have your own heal. Mana Use: 30 m/s Regenerates Health by 3 hp/s (10 m per 1 hp)

Panting, Jake slowly drew himself up to his feet, and looked at the destroyed wall. A glimmering block of ice was blocking the breach, and Mizutsune was sitting a few feet away from him, staring at him with a frown on his fox face. There were Orc bodies littering the ground, bolts of ice erupting from their throats and chests. The defenders had defeated the remaining Orcs, and were now formed up behind the block of ice, watching the distorted figures attempt to break through the makeshift barricade.

Jesus. Don’t fuck with the fox. Jake shook his head, trying to get rid of the cloud of pain that was dulling his thoughts. Opening his mouth to thank his furry friend, an earthshattering roar erupted from outside the wall. A giant stone hand grabbed onto the top of the wall, quickly followed by a second. Jake looked upwards, and was staring into the face of a giant construct of stone, squinting its makeshift eyes at him with hatred.

Oh fuck, it’s back. Jake scrambled backwards, and almost fell when the ground began to shake. With the sound of rending stone, the giant hands ripped a second breach into the wall. The Golem roared again, the sound of grating stone loud enough to shatter the windows of a few buildings close to it. Squeezing itself through the breach, it began to take thundering steps towards Jake and Mizutsune. Orcs began to pour out of the new breach, and the defenders were again hard pressed to hold them back. Some attempted to stop the Golem, but the giant swatted them away from him as if they were as insignificant as insects. The mangled bodies flew through the air, crunching into buildings and the road like sacks of meat. The giant grinned at Jake, its teeth a seamless block of granite.

“God fucking damnit! Mizu, freeze this bitch!”

Mizutsune inhaled as much as his small lungs could take, his silver body glowing like a sun. With a scream almost as loud as the Golem’s, a torrent of ice burst from his mouth, freezing the very air as it slammed into the giant. The Golem grunted, and raising a hand to block the ray of ice, continued walking, slowed heavily from the never ending magic.

Jake squared his feet, and slowly brought his hands together at his right waist. A ball of purple and black flame appeared within his hands, seemingly bending and absorbing all light around it. Grinning to himself with child-like excitement, he began to mumble underneath his breath. “Ka…” The roiling ball of flame grew darker, the light swirling into it like a black hole. “Me…” The stone around Jakes feet began to crack, shards floating towards the swirling ball of death in his hands. “Ha…” The Golem was slowly approaching Mizutsune, its arm completely frozen, and it still continued to move slowly through the maelstrom of ice. “Me…” Mizutsune’s body began to shake from the stress of holding the spell, but the brave little fox would not let his master down, not now, not ever. Jake thrust his hands towards the Golem, screaming as loud as he possibly could. “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

A river of liquid flame burst from his hands, like a reservoir breaking through a dam. The river of flame crashed into the giant, halting its advance. And, ever so slowly, it was being pushed back. Gomorrah, the Immovable Binding of the Earth Breaker, was losing. The Golem roared, and brought his other arm upwards to deflect the magic, but it was too late.

The fighting had come to a shocked halt, watching the battle between an indestructible Binding of Earth, and the overpowering strength of a Master of Fire and a Mystical Beast of Frost. A single crack appeared on the arm of the golem, and it began to rapidly expand with the sound of breaking stone. The deathly cold temperature of Mizutsune’s ice and the river of fire pouring from Jake’s hands rapidly expanded and contracted the stone of Gomorrah’s body, causing it to break apart.

Gomorrah’s left arm shattered into thousands of melted and frozen pieces, followed quickly by its twin on the right side. The golem began to scream in pain, the ear shattering noise causing the Orcs and defenders to cover their ears. The Orcs that were close enough had their eardrums explode from the pressure, and they crumbled to the ground writhing in pain.

“Shut The FUCK UP!” Jake roared back, and the golem exploded into countless fragments. Cutting off the magic, Jake bent forwards, panting loudly. Mizutsune crumbled to his side beside him, panting as heavily as his master. “Fucking…Science…Bitch.” Jake gasped out, before laughing to himself quietly through his panting. I always wanted to do that.

Silence reigned for a few seconds, before the defenders began cheering. The Orcs, seeing that their trump card had been destroyed, roared in anger and began to throw themselves anew at the defenders. The defenders, invigorated by the Mageous’ actions, fought even harder to not be left behind. No more Orcs poured through the breach, either from fear or lack of troops. Jake had no idea which it was.

Catching his breath slightly, Jake quickly pulled out a cigarette and lit up, letting it work through his body, relieving stress and restoring mana. A blinding light came from his side, and he looked over to where Mizutsune had been. A pure white outline of Mizutsune was laying on the ground, and a blue screen appeared before him.

What? Your Mizutsune is evolving!

Jake stared at the notification, before chuckling to himself. Fucking Giggles. Of course she had to make this like Pokemon. Jake began to laugh even harder. He was not too sure if it was the stress, but he was unable to stop himself from giggling like a school girl. The white outline grew from the size of a small dog, which barely reached up his shins, until it was even with his waist. A third tail grew from its rump, and the outline exploded into hundreds of small lights, leaving his new and improved pet fox.

Congratulations! Your Mizutsune has evolved into a [Tri-Tailed Frost-Bound Fox]!

Mizutsune shook his coat, making the silky hair gleam in the setting sun. He had grown longer, becoming more lean and sleek. His three tails glided through the air behind him, flash-freezing the particles of water in the air where they passed, creating a slight veil of frost. He looked up at his master, and Jake felt something on the outskirts of his mind. It felt like a knocking. What the… Oh! That’s right, his Mind Sync ability. I wonder why he hasn’t used it until now. He was too weak before, maybe? Focusing on the presence, he allowed it into his consciousness. A regal voice, cold as ice, but refreshing and calming as a glass of water, whispered through his mind.

“Why are you laughing, Master? Is there something wrong with my body?” Mizutsune tried to look at himself, spinning around in circles as he looked for the problem. This caused Jake to laugh even harder.

“N-no, everything’s good Mizu.” Jake gasped out through the laughter. “Just something reminded me of my home.” Sighing with a smile on his face, Jake straitened up and went through the notifications from the fight with the Golem.

[New Spell Created: River of Flame] [Don’t you just love the smell of napalm in the morning? But hey, seriously, don’t say that again. Copy right issues.] Mana Use: 30 m/s You have defeated Gomorrah, the Earth Elemental Lvl 70 (Summoned by Lok’Ruc the Earth Breaker Lvl 105) Congratulations, you have reached Lvl 26! Int +6, Wis +6. 6 Attribute points ready for distribution. Congratulations, your pet Mizutsune the [Twin-Tailed Frost-Bound Fox] has reached Lvl 20! Congratulations, your pet Mizutsune has evolved into a [Tri-Tailed Frost-Bound Fox]! Congratulations, your pet Mizutsune the [Tri-Tailed Frost-Bound Fox] has reached Lvl 26!

Jake grinned, and added his six points to his stats, putting three into both Vit and End. He then did the math for his level. Unless he couldn’t count, his stats were the same as a level 95. “Jesus Christ, this is over powered…” he muttered to himself. Mizu looked at him, and quirked his head.

“What is wrong, Master? We defeated the Golem soundly. It was not overpowering in the least.”

Jake chuckled. “No, I was thinking of myself. I have the strength of someone almost four times my visible strength. Did I tell you about Giggles?

“The All-Mother? Yes, and she has spoken with me on occasion about you as well. I believe that she calls you her Puppet, correct?”

Jake froze for a second, before grunting. “Yea, she did call me that once or twice. Anyways, I think we should…” He was interrupted by a new notification.

Quest Completed! For the Keep

At great risk to yourself, you have defended the city of Trentshire from overwhelming odds. While you were defending the main entrance and dealing with the Golem Gomorrah, the Detachments of Trentshire circled around behind the Orcs and caught them unprepared. The Attacking Force has been crushed, but the leaders have escaped. This is not the end of the trouble between the Orcs and Beast-Kin, but it is a lull in the fighting.

Speak with the Alpha, Lyrus Proudroar, for your reward.

Jake looked up in time to see a group of knights walk through the breach in the wall, picking their way through the bodies. Blood stained their once silver armor, and many of them were limping or being carried through the wall. Above the wall, a flock of giant ravens circled the field, the setting sun glinting off of the silver armor of the riders.

A single knight began to walk towards Jake with dignified steps, and as it approached it reached up and removed its helmet. Wolen shook his head, releasing his sensitive ears from the confines of the steel headpiece. The Leopard-Kin walked up to Jake and clasped his arm.

“Sir Mageous, I, and the entire city, thank you. You have helped send a crushing blow to the War-Bands of the Orcs. One that will not be forgotten for generations. I will escort you to the keep whenever you are ready.” Wolen looked at Jake for a second, before grabbing a pair of cotton pants and shirt from his Inventory. “Put these on, as well. It would be unseemly for someone of your stature to walk around naked.” The knight handed the clothing to Jake, and stood back, giving him some room.

Sighing, Jake looked at Mizutsune, and shrugged. Well, no rest for the weary. He quickly pulled the pants on, and began to wrestle with the shirt.

Mizutsune nodded at him. “It would appear so, Master. These Beast-Kin are very formal with their actions, especially with the rewarding of honors.”

Yep. Now get there and go get that Owl booty!

Jake growled to himself. Great, two fucking mind readers. I can’t even bitch in peace any more. Mizutsune’s regal chuckles gently washed through his mind, and Jake began to limp back towards the keep, Fox and Leopard-Kin following closely behind, the sun’s final rays of light washing the streets in orange.

___________________________________________________________________

Lok’Ruc was kneeling in front of a trio of elderly orcs. The two males of the group had long flowing white beards that reached past their wastes, while the lone female’s silvery hair was plated behind her back. The Elders were staring at the kneeling Orc in silence, letting their gazes show their disdain for his failure.

“Lok’Ruc the Earth Breaker, what excuse do you have for failing your people?” One of the Elders spoke, his voice gravelly. Lok’Ruc could feel the strength of Water within him, swelling and ebbing like the tide. The Elders of the three tribes were all Grand Masters of their respective elements, and being in their presence was a terrifying thing to behold.

“Elder Ran’Ferun,” Lok’Ruc began slowly, “the Agent of Change was with the Beast-Men. He fought alongside the filthy creatures, and easily defeated my Bound. Seeing this, I called for a retreat while we still had most of the War-Bands. While we were retreating, the accursed Beast-Men rallied a force of mounted soldiers and airborne archers, and they attacked our flanks. If I had attempted to push through after my Bound’s destruction, we would have been caught and butchered to the last.”

The other male Elder raised an eyebrow at the kneeling Orc, and the flames of the campfire behind the Elders slowly grew into a roaring bonfire, showing his displeasure. “You informed me that you had trained this ‘Agent of Change’ yourself, Ruc. Why would he side with the Beast-Men instead of siding with us?”

“Elder Lok’Tenu, this one does not know.” Lok’Ruc bowed his head even farther towards his Elder. “I do not know if it is due to myself not training him enough, or some fault of the Agent’s own mind.”

Elder Lok’Tenu opened his mouth to berate the kneeling Orc more, but was cut off by the female Elder. “This is interesting, Lok’Ruc. I do not believe that this was entirely your fault. We were unprepared to deal with someone of the Agent of Change’s caliber. But, we will not repeat the same mistake twice.” Small sparks of lightning began arcing between her hands. The sparks began to arc more frequently, and soon were encompassing her entire body within a raging storm of electricity. The Elder smiled, lightning sparking in between her tusks.

“I will deal with this ‘Agent of Change’ myself, so that he will not be able to foil our plans ever again.”