《The Oath of Oblivion》Chapter 63 : Last Chain Unbroken
Advertisement
Rane woke the next day with a burning in his throat. It took him a few moments of staring at the ceiling to realise he’d woken up.
“My head…” he grumbled to himself. He rolled in bed and was greeted by a new wave of nausea. Just how much had he drunk? He spared a glance at Loric who was laying on the bed face down. Was he alive still? “I thought only humans slept.” Rane shoved him to the side with his foot. “Move, you fossil.”
Loric mumbled something in Lanarish, but didn’t budge.
Well, at least he lived. Maybe not with his mental faculties intact, but he lived. “Don’t you have soldiers to train?”
“Aaaahh!” Loric made a sound between a woman giving birth and a bear caught in a trap. He shot up and looked at the sun outside, all colour draining from his face. The bed nearly tilted over as he reached under it for his weapon, before hurriedly patting down his beard and running outside.
Rane chuckled. After so many years alone and without responsibility, it was natural that Loric would forget at times. The soldiers found him eccentric, from what he’d heard, but none doubted his skills or teaching methods. After having experienced them both first hand, Rane would have to agree. He was glad that the man had found a new purpose. Ellin had been right, in a sense. The journey did him good.
Though now it was his turn to get up and go about his day, and the prospect seemed tiring. He stood and lost balance, grabbing onto the desk behind him for support. He’d never had so much alcohol before, so he didn’t know what to expect. A few uneven steps got him to the bathroom. Good so far.
He washed his face with cold water, and when that didn’t work, plunged his entire head into the bucket. This morning, he’d run double the usual distance. It was bad enough that he’d gotten carried away. There was no excuse to miss his training as well. During the months he’d spent with Loric, honing his body had turned into a habit. Now that they’d met again, the habit returned as well. Perhaps it was because he finally felt safe enough to roam outside.
Danira’s mornings had a mellow warmth to them. The streets felt empty today, both of soldiers and of ashfen. Even around the infirmary, the groans of the ill had diminished. Seoltrin hadn’t managed to find a cure, but his contribution was starting to show. The doctors, nurses, and all those that tended to the ill could finally breathe a sigh of relief. That included Rane. It was the sole reason he could get drunk without guilt. But his duty wasn’t over yet. He panted and slowly came to a halt outside the infirmary. Blake was waiting for him outside.
Advertisement
“Did he kick you out?” Rane asked, resting with his palms against his knees.
“How’d you know?” Blake sighed.
“I’ve spent enough time around Seoltrin to know his quirks.” Rane righted himself and opened the door to the infirmary. Liera was still on the top floor, since it’d be dangerous to even move her for now.
“Well, shouldn’t we wait then?” Blake asked. “Until he’s done?”
“It should be fine.” Rane smiled. “He wants to get on my good side.”
Blake raised his eyebrows as they climbed the stairs. “Sometimes you scare me, little brother.”
“Wait.” Rane’s face dropped. “I’m the youngest?”
“Liera beat you by seven minutes, yes.” Blake laughed. “Dad once told me that she kicked and wiggled like mad when the midwife delivered you two, almost like she was trying to come out first.” The smile left his face as he looked down the long corridor, toward her bed. “It’s exactly like her.”
Rane placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “I’d ask you what she’s like, but I know I don’t have to. She will be back with us soon.”
Blake gave him a bitter smile and nodded. He hastened on his way a little as they got close, crossing the curtain around her bed.
Rane followed in right after him and almost bumped his head against a metal rod hanging from the ceiling. Seoltrin was still leaning over Liera, leaving only his hunched back and bald head visible. It was obvious he’d been hard at work. Hundreds of tiny metal hooks, rings, tubes and screws were either on Liera’s body or hovering around her, ready to be used. They were strangely translucent, letting Rane see Liera’s wounds through them, where they held her skin open. Seoltrin was working on one such wound close to her abdomen.
“Leave,” he growled without turning.
“But I want to observe your methods,” Rane said.
Seoltrin glanced behind him with raised eyebrows, adjusting his small circular glasses. The black circles under his eyes were prominent. “I’m almost done for the day, but you can watch.” He turned back around and continued, carefully cutting part of what Rane assumed was her liver, before mending it once more with his magic. “This is why salve should only be applied to superficial wounds,” Seoltrin mumbled under his breath. “It reached all the way to her damaged organs and put them back together wrong. Potent, that thing, but it lacks grace. Thankfully, I got to most of it before serious damage.”
“Most of it?” Blake asked, obviously worried.
“Sometimes I wish I was born an ashfen or a Lanar.” Seoltrin sighed. “Then I wouldn’t have to waste time sleeping, and you wouldn’t have to ask me that.” He finished stitching together part of her skin and huffed, running a hand over his head. “I am doing my best, but the road to her recovery is long and arduous. In saving her, you caused some serious damage.”
Advertisement
Rane bit his lip. “Did you manage to figure out why she’s not waking up?”
“No,” Seoltrin said, wiping the blood from his hands. “Asah was smart enough to stay away from her head when hurting her so there was no damage to the brain. I’m guessing it might be oxygen deprivation during your intervention, but I can’t know for sure yet.”
“Thank you for this.” Rane lowered his head. “Really. Thank you.”
“Huh?” Seoltrin raised an eyebrow, deepening the wrinkles on his forehead. “Do you need a head check up too? I’m just doing my job. No gratitude required.” He lifted himself off the tiny stool with difficulty, grimacing as he did, then laid down onto the empty bed next to Liera’s. Not five seconds later, he started snoring.
Blake raised both eyebrows. “Did he just…”
“Well, Seoltrin’s rather old. He doesn’t have the energy he used to,” Rane said, then waited a little. “Okay, he’s definitely asleep. No way he’d let that slide if he heard it.”
“Energetic or not, he’s working miracles.” Blake held Liera’s arm and stroked her forehead with his thumb. “In my panic and fear, I never realised how pale she’d gotten. Look at her now though. She seems almost peaceful.”
Rane looked at his sister’s face and took in her features. Instead of the rush he felt when seeing Blake for the first time, there was only a knot forming in his stomach. “I didn’t recognise her.”
“You couldn’t have,” Blake said. “I struggled to do so myself with those injuries.” He fell silent for a few moments, holding onto Liera’s arm a little tighter. “We’ve been dealt a horrible hand, Rane. You’ve heard, haven’t you?”
Rane sat beside him. “The war?”
“Andren war. Fought for glory, vanity and religion. The world’s gone unhinged, Rane. Not just them, but Silyra as well.” Blake rubbed his eyes with his palms. “Everyone wants us to fight, but I’ve seen their technology first hand. Their weapons.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“I used to think the same,” Rane said. “But now that I found you, now that I have a family, I can understand. It’s like the fear of death slowly snuck inside my heart and took hold, growing with every loving and caring word I’ve shared.” Rane chuckled. “It’s ironic. When I was alone, I had little to lose, but still didn’t want to fight. I just didn’t see rhyme or reason to it. But now… Now that I’m terrified of death and the consequences that the future may bring, I know why we must fight.” He placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder. "At least now, we can weather it together.”
Blake remained silent, looking down at the floor between his hands. “Thank you,” he said under his breath, half smiling. “You sounded like Liera. Well, except much more tactful and kind than she would have been.”
“Hey!” Rane threw him a soft jab. “Don’t badmouth my sister. When she wakes up, I’m telling her.”
“I wouldn’t hear the end of it.” Blake chuckled, before his smile faded. “I feel guilty, you know? I gave dad an earful about leaving her, and here I am about to do the same. Bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“What would she think?” Rane asked. “Should you stay sleepless and anxious by her side when she’s already safe and in good hands, or go be with Sasha?”
“I guess she’d tell me to enjoy my time with her. Confessing to Sasha was one of the few decisions I made that Liera agreed with.”
“Mhm,” Rane smiled at him playfully. “Well, you two seem made for each other. Why else would you call her the love of your life?”
“Wha–” Blake blushed, looking a little shocked. “How do you remember that? Weren’t you blackout drunk?”
Rane tapped his forehead and winked at him. “I’m done losing memories.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Blake chuckled. “It feels nice to have you around again.”
“I’ll try to be around as much as I can, then,” Rane said and stood. “Though for now, we need to get ready for the trip back. And perhaps after our business at the palace is concluded and you’ve settled in your new home, I could come around for dinner.”
“We’d be glad to have you.” Blake hugged him unexpectedly.
“Thank you.” Rane smiled and relished the moment for a little while. It felt good to be back. “We should go,” he said, patting Blake’s back and distancing himself. “Poor Seoltrin deserves some peaceful sleep. Besides, we can’t keep a king waiting too long.”
Advertisement
Tempero King
Kade, a young man with a troubled past and abandonment issues, returns home after four years of service in the military with reservations about his future. However, Everything is upended when foreign races descend on earth, introducing humans to cultivation. Suddenly, the mythical abilities written about in stories are no longer works of fiction, but instead are the new reality. The foreign races-- Congregated into factions -- didn't come to Earth out of benevolence, however. They had a goal, which becomes apparent when Portals begin appearing across the globe. On the other side of these portals, sits a vast new world with resources galore. The faction's couldn't visit this new world themselves, so they requested that humans enter these portals to explore and conquer this new world in their sted as their champions, and in return, they offered these humans knowledge and resources for their cultivation. Just like that, a life changing opportunity presented itself to Kade and the rest of humanity. Is it truly as simple as it seems, or is there something dangerous under the surface? What makes this new world different from the countless others in the universe? If it sounds too good to be true, then it likely is. But those are questions for another day. For now, our protagonist will grasp this opportunity with both hands and claw his way to the top while facing the obstacles in his path as he goes! -Cover Art- The cover art is composed of two parts. 1: The hand was drawn by Robert Marzullo, a professional artist who has illustrated a few comic books and had some 3D animation on television. He is currently illustrating his own comic book 'Blackstone Eternal'. He has graciously allowed me the opportunity to use his artwork for the cover of my original webnovel. -Link to the art used: https://www.deviantart.com/robertmarzullo/art/Hand-Studies-By-RAM-605188489 -Robert Marzullo's Deviant Art page where you can find his other social media: https://www.deviantart.com/robertmarzullo/about 2: The magic circle used was created by ChocasaJulie on Deviant Art. She follows her passion for art despite those that would consider it a waste of time. She has even made some of her art Free Use in support of other artists. Her only ask is that she is credited, and that is more than fair!
8 185Hellfire Across the Heavens
Three centuries of FTL space travel has spread the people of Terra far across the stars and for nearly half a millennia people have asked the question, "are we alone in the universe?" The answer to that question is a resounding no. To one side, humanity is boxed in by an ancient empire whose light has burned up long ago. To the other, is a federation of alien races known as the Senate. Mankind rejoiced the knowledge that they were not the only life in a cold dark galaxy. But as first contact was made, ET's who transited into the Warp seemed to disappear without a trace, technologies traded with the other races malfunctioned or refused to work entirely, and simple translation errors led to grave misunderstandings. Before long, humanity was outcasted by the Senate and relationships soured, but even still the sons and daughters of Terra worked hard to earn the respect and trust of the Xeno's.
8 125A Man At Arms
A noblemans son and a stalwart knight travel through a dying city in search of its local ruler. Instead of the Baron they find a much more sinister force controlling what remains of the city. Part 2 A Lord At War Finepoint falls as our heroes make their escape. Arthur and Pyp disagree on what comes next as they encounter forgotten magic and ancient ruins. Scheming lords and ladies wage silent wars which threaten to tear to lands apart.
8 127FEDERATION
Federation takes close encounters to a whole new level. A galactic empire of a quarter of a million worlds stumbles across the Earth.Their philosophy on life is totally unexpected. With the help of intelligent automatons, they've turned a reviled political system into a utopia for the masses, but are they a force for good or evil?A Daragnen university graduate, Yol Rummy Blin Breganin, discovers that Earth failed in its attempt to join the Federation, and, for some unknown reason, members are forever banned from visiting or contacting the planet. Rummy had never heard of a whole world being outlawed. Perhaps it would be sensible to leave well enough alone but no, he decides to investigate...FEDERATION is the first in a series of near-future, hard science-fiction novels by Tony Harmsworth, the First Contact specialist.Submerge yourself in humankind's cultural and economic dilemma by reading Federation today.(c) Tony Harmsworth 2019
8 609Dragon souls
This story is aboutt 7 teenagers that think that there is a better life, a better world then the one that they live in. But you wold think that it was all wrong, that there is no other world that could replace this one. But this story is not about facts and legends, it’s about this other world, this other dimension that you would never know was there. It’s about how these seven young people came to find this world and what they found in it was nothing that you could believe could happen... The main character is a dipshit and he has friends that hang around him for some reason maybe because he is special. :-? He wishes to be somewhere else like in a set of big plump breasts. Instead he ends up in a world where the lizards breathe fire and have wings... Well he's fucked (the characters have not much of a description. so I have created the characters so that whoever is reading this can imagine what the characters look like for themselves. I have done it this way because I find it easier to imagine the characters facual apperiences when I read a book and I do believe that other people would agree with what I have said.)
8 135Osaethar
In the VR game, World, the strongest player is labelled as the overlord. One day, the overlord, Kindred, went to a mission with his team. However, the mission was not a success. Due to a series of misfortune, the squad is teleported to an alternate land, called Osaethar, that is absolutely no different from reality except for the existence of magic and superhuman strength. Disclaimer (?): This light novel is heavily inspired by Overlord by Kugane Maruyama. Expect a lot of elements that come from it. But I wouldn't consider this fanfiction. Enjoy!
8 192