Author's Note: This chapter if very exciting for me, because it introduces what will be the main plot element of the story for quite a while. I won't clarify exactly what the element is, but it's introduced here, haha. It was a LONG time building to this moment, but from here on out the tone of the story is going to continue evolving. A shift from 'discovery of a new world' to 'adventure in a new world', you could say.

A big thank you to all the donors! Send me a PM if you would like to be identified, otherwise I will keep things anonymous. You guys are awesome!

A chill wind swirled around Jesvae Spiritwind as she perched on a rooftop overlooking the quarters used by the students from House Flameward. Her claws were stuck deep in the stonework around the edge of the building, using a trick she had discovered as a child – she had discovered how to coat her claws in a thin film of ice, making them harder and sharper than any steel. A black bandana was tied tight around her head, hiding her shocking red hair lest it give her away as she spied upon her prey.

Jesvae was nothing short of a genius when it came to cultivation, having made more progress in thirty years than most nobles would by seventy. She was the product of a thousand years of selective breeding carried out by House Spiritwind, a massive eugenics experiment of which the Trial of Wind was but a small part. For hundreds of years House Spiritwind had secretly been working towards a singular goal; to surpass the Merrik.

Scowling as she climbed slowly down the stonework (leaving behind deep claw imprints), Jesvae went over what she had recently learned. She had gotten new reports about strange visitors suddenly appearing in her target’s room, as well as the current scores at the Black Tournament – it was incredible how well the boy was doing, considering his size. There was just over a tenday left to go before the end of the tournament, and she was starting to worry that he might actually pass!

Jesvae was silently amused as she saw her subordinates jump when she rounded a corner, none of them brave enough to make eye contact as they saluted her; the cowards. She swept past them, moving towards her makeshift interrogation room. The smell of fresh blood wafted up to meet her as she opened the door, causing her to smile. Maybe they had gotten a bit more information for her.

“My Lady First Heir!” Said a blood stained older man as he quickly turned around and knelt before her.

Paying little attention to the interrogator, Jesvae examined at the bloody man tied to the table in front of her. She had captured him a few days ago, after having discovered him spying on her target. He wasn’t moving, but she knew he wasn’t dead – he would be held captive until things had settled down, then be sent to the Shieldwall.

“Did he tell you anything?” She asked, eyeing the wounds inflicted on her captive. They looked painful, but nothing a Silverlight healer couldn’t fix.

“Yes, My Lady First Heir! You were right, he does work for the enemy.”

Jesvae nodded, unsurprised. There were only two factions in the world likely to be interested in the boy; hers, and the enemy.

The interrogator continued, “He is a minor noble for House Runetail, and he was sent to make sure we hadn’t made contact.”

Jesvae felt gratified by this revelation - she had been correct. They had to act, and they had to act tonight.

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“Heller! Heller, hurry, we have to go!”

I spun to face to door before turning back to look at Wolfram, who had come earlier to pay me a visit. What the beast! Was that Wulfric? I had just gotten to my feet when my question was answered and Wulfric barged into the room, his face flushed.

“Heller, there are some people who want to speak with you, they said it’s urgent, and Tetra is still with them!”

I exchanged a glance with Wolfram, who raised an eyebrow and sent me a telepathic message (one of his many spells), {I’ll watch through your eyes, just let me establish a link.}

I nodded to him, trying not to resist. We had spent a few minutes practicing it a few days ago, and it was surprisingly hard. Our theory was that personal Qi always tried to resist foreign Qi, which is why Wolfram’s spells that directly affected an opponent’s mind or body always had some chance of failure. To lower my defenses, I had to visualize allowing his Qi to flow through me… and so far I hadn’t been able to do that. It was just so foreign to me, that kind of surrender.

{You are still resisting, but I got in anyway.} Came Wolfram’s telepathic message as I followed Wulfric out the door. I wasn’t super happy about how easily Wolfram could punch through my measly resistance, and that was definitely something I planned to address in the future. The benefits Wolfram and I had received in the ‘Tribulation’ seemed to be identical (though I was better at using them), but they in no way helped me against the subtle effects of his spells.

In a close range battle Wolfram was weaker than me, but we had figured out that if I wasn’t quick enough he could screw with my mind or teleport me somewhere nasty. I was actually pretty impressed with his Cultivation Technique, though I knew that it wouldn’t suit me very well. Plus, he had a limited pool of some kind of energy (which he called MP, like in a video game) that he had to use to cast his spells, a system I wouldn’t really like. Sure, his MP regenerated quickly, but in a drawn out conflict (such as fighting a beast horde) my power set was way more useful, because it didn’t drain anything except my personal stamina - just like any other physical activity would.

I followed Wulfric out of our residence and through a series of winding side streets, ready to apply TR at a moment’s notice, and with Wolfram ready to provide backup if needed. Wulfric was visibly agitated, jogging ahead of me, not able to tell me much except the people I was to meet were powerful nobles. Our footsteps echoed off the stone beneath our feet, joining the constant hum of background noise in The City. Even at night it was never truly quiet here, a stark contrast to North Stone Village.

The alleys were empty, but every now and then we could see flashes of people off in the distance, visiting shops or eateries along the busier streets. We did have alcohol, including beer and other spirits, but it was only consumed for flavor – alcohol wasn’t able to make us drunk, which just solidified my theory that we were somehow immune to conventional poisons. However, there were various drinks, pills, and potions that the Alchemists sold which could cause inebriation of a sort (as well as other supposedly pleasant effects), and establishments selling them sometimes stayed open all night.

Wulfric paused a few times to orient himself, but had grown up in The City so he was a lot more familiar with the layout than I was. He told me there was actually an overall pattern to all the streets and alleys, but for me it was like wandering through somewhere in ancient Rome, or maybe modern Venice – a beautiful stone-work maze that made absolutely no sense at all.

We eventually reached a nondescript two story warehouse next to a river, boxes and barrels stacked neatly along one side, and with an ancient looking dock leading to a beat up old barge. I caught a faint fishy smell as well, but it was distant – probably from one of the buildings nearby.

There were a pair of armed guards standing next to a side door of the warehouse, who waved us inside once we got closer. I noticed that Wulfric seemed hesitant to enter the building so I led the way; the way he was acting reminded me of how he was with Wolfram… which lead me to believe there must be nobles inside. I applied TR just to be safe, but I really hoped I wouldn’t have to kill or maim more nobles. Making enemies was such a pain in the ass.

… I had thought I was prepared for anything, but the sight of Tetra sitting down across from Jesvae Spiritwind, both of them sipping tea, nearly knocked me flat on my ass. {What the FUCK!} Exclaimed Wolfram in my mind, not at all helping things.

The interior of the warehouse was clean and empty, the building just one large room. There were empty shelves along the walls, but other than that the only furniture was an ornately carved table with four chairs arranged around it – one being used by Tetra, and the other by a woman who looked exactly like the images Wolfram had shown me of his sister.

Tetra looked over at me, raising her eyebrows and giving me an ‘all clear’ signal. So it looked like she wasn’t in immediate danger, at least.

Jesvae looked over at me as she stood up, clasping her arms behind her back as she casually strode over.

“Heller Firehand of North Stone Village. Still eight years old, but still somehow managed to pass the first two rounds of the Black Tournament. Rumored to be a Cultivator, an apprentice of the Merrik, and to have the ability to vanish at will from the grounds of Academy. Reported to be extremely intelligent, and to display maturity well beyond your years. You are Heller Firehand, son of Toly the blacksmith and Isa Firehand, and you will explain yourself to me.”

She stopped speaking as abruptly as she started, staring straight at me as she continued to slowly approach, her eyes never once leaving mine. Her expression was stone, her voice as cold as ice, but her fierce gaze held so much heat that I started to sweat. My jaw hung open, so shocked by her words that I didn’t even know what to think.

Oh crap, what the hell was I supposed to do now! After she had gotten within two paces of me she stopped, her hands still clasped behind her back, her eyes still boring into mine. I saw Tetra move into view, slowly making her way to my side. Wulfric was cowering next to the wall, obviously incredibly uncomfortable in this situation, facing the full scrutiny of a noble (probably for the first time).

{Well… at least she doesn’t beat around the bush, holy shit!} Came chimed in Wolfram, causing me to flinch. I did my best to mentally tell him to shut up, not needing any distractions right now. I had no idea what to say to the First Heir of House Spiritwind.

“I can sense something about you…” Jesvae continued, starting to walk around me in a tight circle. “Tell me, how did you spread the falsehood about being the Merrik’s apprentice. Nobody has spoken with him in living memory, so why tell such an obvious lie?”

I had decided that silence was going to be my only reply until I figured something out… but I had forgotten about Wulfric, the thirteen-year-old boy who both an incredibly loyal friend and absolutely terrified of nobles (and, right now, quite panicked).

“That’s not true, I saw it! Merrik spoke with him outside the shelter!” Wulfric blurted out, coming to my defense. My mind went blank. Did that actually just happen? How someone so smart could be so stupid…

“Wulfric, shut up, your beast brained fool!” Cried Tetra, trying to help but actually making matters worse. What the fuck was going on!

Jesvae took a step backwards, her head whipping between Tetra and Wulfric, her expression quickly morphing from annoyed consternation to stunned disbelief. Oh shit, was she reading their expressions? Did she know about body language?

Damage control! I quickly looked around, making sure none of the guards in the room were making to attack us… and suddenly realizing they had already left. It was just the four of us.

“It’s true… you are his apprentice…” Jesvae whispered, looking rapidly between the three of us. Her gaze locked onto mine, but her expression had changed drastically. “So you already know he is dying?” She demanded suddenly, taking another step towards me.

“What!” Yelled Tetra and Wulfric, almost in unison, but from that point on their reactions differed wildly. Wulfric dashed for the doorway, running from the warehouse at top speed, but Tetra turned to stare at Jesvae, taking a step towards her. I just wanted to leave with Wulfric, cover everything here in ice and just forget it ever happened, but I knew that wasn’t an option. He was obviously freaking the fuck out, but I needed to figure out what Jesvae’s goals were before I did anything rash. My heart was pounding and my head was spinning, but I had no choice but to try and keep it together… and not to dwell on what Jesvae had just said. The Merrik dying would, literally, be the end of the world!

“Tetra, go after Wulfric!” I shouted at her, speaking my first words since entering the warehouse. I pointed at his fleeing form, my mind blank and still trying to process the existential horror of the impending apocalypse, when my ice power activated itself again in response to my panic, creating a wall of ice between myself and the door. OH FUCK, not now! Frost was dripping from my hands as my Ice powers worked to protect me against a nonexistent threat, causing jagged shards to sprout from the floor around me.

I had just enough time to see a shocked looking Jesvae throw up an ice wall of her own, completely encasing herself, before I dropped to the floor and closed my eyes. I heard a loud cracking noise and the sound of breaking stone as I went through a series of breathing exercises, doing my best to ignore whatever damage my power was causing. I knew I had to relax to regain control; let go in order to hold on. I heard Jesvae speaking but I tuned it out, knowing that even if she attacked me I had TR active… and I couldn’t help my friends if my powers were busy destroying the building around me!

Precious seconds had passed before I felt my control snap back into place. What the beast was that! Had I been thinking about using my ice powers? Why the bloody beast had they activated on their own! I opened my eyes and looked around… only to see starlight overhead. There was a tower of ice shooting through the roof of the warehouse, and Jesvae was standing right next to me. She had created a shield of ice above us which had stopped any falling stone from striking me… though the majority of the roof was still trapped in the tower of ice.

I tried to thinking of Wulfric and Tetra, hoping Wolfram was still with me. {Don’t worry Heller, I connected with Tetra. She is still chasing Wulfric, but they are fine. Nobody is coming after them.}

Sighing in relief, I looked up at Jesvae, meeting her gaze. Her expression was strange… How the hell was I going to explain this? Sorry I lost control and almost killed us, but you startled me so it’s your fault? I felt Wolfram chuckle and I frowned… I didn’t really like him having access to my thoughts like this.

{I’ll disconnect if you want.} He sent, but I shook my head. I might need him for now, but he was going to have to help me develop some defenses against mind attacks. {Sure, no problem.} I sighed again, this time in exasperation…

“Please tell the Merrik I apologize for questioning him. I meant no offense.” Said Jesvae. What the hell was she… oh, hey! That’s great, I’ll just use that!

I cleared my throat, deciding to just skirt the truth again. No need for outright lies. “The danger has passed.”

Jesvae nodded as I stood up, looking around us. I glanced over at her, deciding that there wasn’t much point in hiding things now. So I made an Ice-Spider construct and had it climb the ice tower to help me lower the roof back down – the last thing I needed was bring it crashing down on our heads. It was tricky because the construct alone wasn’t quite strong enough (the roof was quite heavy), but it helped me keep the things stable as I carefully melted the ice tower.

In the end I broke the roof in half and tossed the debris into the river, knowing that leaning it against a wall would possibly precipitate a collapse that might cause even more damage. The whole process had only taken a few minutes, but from the voices I heard outside the warehouse we had gathered a crowd.

“Heller, stay here for a moment.” Whispered Jesvae as she motioned to her wide-eyed guards. One of them brought a cloak forwards, offering it to me, and gratefully used it to conceal my appearance as Jesvae walked boldly outside.

“Make way for Lady First Heir Jesvae Spiritwind!” One of her guards called out, eliciting a series of shocked gasps from the small crowd outside.

Jesvae spoke a few words I couldn’t quite hear and then came back inside, collecting me and heading back towards the river. A frozen pathway abruptly formed over the water as she strode confidently onwards, leading us away from the badly damaged warehouse.

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Several hours later I sat with Tetra and Wolfram back in our quarters. Tetra had managed to calm Wulfric down, but he wasn’t doing very well after hearing that the Merrik was dying. I suppose, for the people of this place, Merrik was kind of like a god figure. I mean, it freaked me out too, but Wolfram and I came from another world – we had a wider perspective. What was probably the most surprising was how well Tetra was taking things!

“He said he just wanted to see his family.” She said quietly, finishing her report on how things went with Wulfric. “I had to keep telling him that he would be disqualified, but he wouldn’t listen!” Tetra shook her head, referring to one of the rules of the Black Tournament – no family allowed until after the tournament is finished; not as spectators, and not as visitors.

She had eventually convinced him that since I was the Merrik’s apprentice everything would be fine, which seemed to calm him down. Great, all I needed… so, what, I have to save the world now? Spend the next thousand years killing beasts with no break, never a rest, like the Merrik did now?

Bloody beast, that sounded terrible. How the heck did the Merrik do it!? And why!?

“So what happened after I left?” Tetra asked me after a brief silence.

I decided not to hold anything back. “Jesvae is part of a group that thinks we need to cross the mountains, reach the other side.”

Tetra’s eyes widened. “But… but the mountains go on forever! There is no other side.”

I nodded, “That is what we are taught, but… the Merrik had to come from somewhere, and her group thinks that his Cultivation Technique exists… on the other side of the mountains.”

I glanced at Wolfram, who looked deep in thought. We had discussed it between ourselves, and had decided that Jesvae was almost certainly correct. Coming from Earth, we found it hard to believe the myths taught here: The world is bounded by infinite mountains to the north and south; the Valley of Shadow to the east; the Endless Ocean to the west. It just didn’t jive with us. There had to be more…

I spent the next few minutes telling Tetra what Jesvae and I had spoken about, giving her a chance to ask questions at the end. Tetra pursed her lips, reaching up to tap her horn as she looked at me. “So her group wants to send you across the mountains, and she wants you to join her house so that she can take you to a secret training area they have setup…”

I shrugged. “More or less, yeah. I told her that I was interested in crossing the mountains, but I might need to join her training area later.” I let out an involuntary chuckle, “She was pretty nice, actually, after I tore the roof off the warehouse.”

Tetra was silent for a moment, “I kind of like her, actually. She told me she thinks nobles are useless idiots who do nothing but waste resources and hoard power.”

That was kind of a surprise… and, generally, probably pretty accurate.

Wolfram snorted, “Yeah, she is great, super nice. Nice enough that she wants to have me killed, I bet.”

That… was actually a valid concern.