Chapter 2: Holy City of Broan

After Lynette had disappeared, Azure and I set up camp for the remainder of the day and night in the cave that the previously vanquished group had been using. Inside of the decent sized crevice within the hillside I could see 6 bedrolls laid out haphazardly. Further back, where it was too dark to see clearly, particularly in the fading light of day, I could make out several piles of what looked like broken and whole furniture, some weapons, and several smaller piles of items. Looking about me, I saw a few burnt down torches laying on the ground that they must have used for light. Pursing my lips, I wondered if there might be a better way.

What did I have that could produce light? I had Water, Earth, Electricity, Fire, and Wind manipulation. I knew fire could work, but that was only if I was near a fire source. “Hmm. I wonder if using a portable source would work.” Azure had finished with her investigation of the cave, seeming to not be quite so concerned of the lack of light, and now she was sniffing around me.

“Azure,” I called out. Her ears perked up a little and she turned to face me. “Can you activate your fire?” I enquired. Seeming to know what I wanted, she began to glow with her pale blue flame. As it grew in size, to the point where the flames stretched about 2 inches away from her body, it seemed to give some light to the further reaches of the cave. Still it wasn’t enough.

Opening my soul and reaching out towards her flame, I tried to feel it out to see if I could manipulate it as well. As I pressed upon it, it gave off a sensation of being solid matter that continuously fluctuated and yet not elemental in nature, making it so that I could not move it with my own will. Frowning in thought, I tried to gather up the heat I could feel coming off of her. That seemed to work, but the fire, if that is what it could even be called, refused to respond to my attempts at manipulation. “Okay, so that is out of the question. Thank you Azure for letting me try.” Then, lowering myself down beside her I began to scratch her head.

As she leaned into me, encouraging me to continue my attention, the fire that she had summoned around herself began to fade and then disappear. In the darker confines of the cave I reached out to touch the wall to better steady myself while I paid more attention to the white bundle of fur next to me. *spark* A small flash of light illuminated my hand briefly, just before I touched the wall. It took me a second to realize the importance of that as I had moved my hand from Azures head to her back and sides, scratching away.

The stinging sensation of the small electrostatic shock triggered an idea within me. Withdrawing my hand from the wall, I continued scratching Azure who had no compunctions at all about the extended treatment. Closing my eyes, I concentrated my soul essence upon the contact between my hand and Azure’s fur as I made continuous passes over her. A gentle yet seemingly insignificant electrical charge seemed to come from that contact, similar to what you might expect to gain from rubbing your feet on carpet. That is, before touching a metal object or another person by which you would discharge the build-up of negatively charged electricity.

This time, I sought to contain and harness that gathering electricity. With my electrical manipulation, I carefully shifted the accumulating charge that I built up from rubbing Azure’s fur and I focused it upon my opposite hand. I could feel the electrical tension building up on my right hand, but there was no accompanying light that would denote its presence. Finally, as my hand had begun to spasm a little from the gathering charge, a sudden flash, much greater than the original static shock flowed between me and the ground. “Yeouch!” I cried out as I fell on my rear. That Hurt!

As the larger than normal negative charge ran from my hand to the ground, I hadn’t been focusing on preventing the charge from going anywhere other than keeping it from diffusing back into my body. Because of that, I hadn’t protected myself against the pull of the earth which had a natural inclination of shorting out electricity. Despite the pain of the sudden discharge, it had given off quite the flash of light which illuminated the entire cave.

Azure had jumped back at the sudden discharge of light and electricity but then came around to sniff at the darkened spot on the ground, and to lick my right hand. “Haha, thanks Azure.” As if saying, all better, she leaned up against me again to receive more scratching. “Do you ever get tired of that?” I asked her. Instead of answering she simply bumped my hand again. *sigh* Resigned to giving her more treatment, I returned to scratching her head and back again. This time, as I was scratching with my right hand, I decided to build up the charge in my left.

Slowly the charge built up again, and as I protected the gathered electricity, preventing it from dispersing into my body or from jumping from my hand to the ground, I had soon gathered an even greater charge which had my hand shuddering like I had a chronic hand tremor. Gritting my teeth against what I planned to do next, I slowly relaxed my grip on the electricity, but not before I suffused the entire space between my hand and the ground and going a few feet deeper with my soul essence. Within that field of soul energy, I was the master of elemental forces.

Suddenly, I felt an invisible force rise up from the ground as if to embrace and absorb the negative charge in my hand. In an instant, as I had readied myself for such an occurrence, I mentally grabbed at that rising force and pulled on it, tearing it from the ground itself. Light and electricity came up out of the ground which struggled desperately to resist my pull. Soon the light faded and my hand had grown rather numb from the accumulated charge within it.

I could sense a lot of energy now within my hand and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what might happen if I allowed it to discharge all at once. But what if I slowly let it out? With that idea in mind, I went back outside while still holding onto the terrible charge, and I picked up my black naginata in my right hand which I had left leaning against the wall of the cave near the entrance. Then I slowly began easing the electrical charge from my left hand to my right, where it instantly began creating sparks along the length of my staff, illuminating the area around me. Certainly it hurt, but how else was I to build up my immunity but by increasing my exposure to the element.

Every time my charge began to run down a little, I would then yank back on the force from the ground that sought to neutralize the continuous stream of energy. That, I would have to say was the hardest part, which took a lot of mental power and soul energy from me to accomplish. In time, I felt I’d be able to gather larger amounts of energy, but for now, I seemed limited to about 10 second intervals of electrical charge lighting before I had to draw upon the ground again. Although I was currently limited in regards to targets by which I could test my new control of electricity upon, I was excited about the future opportunities that would eventually arise.

Now fully equipped with a rather erratic light source, I scoured the inner depths of the cave. Like I had seen before, there were several pieces of small furniture items, like small desks, bread boxes, display shelves, and more in various piles. Much of it looked to have been used for firewood, while some of it was sitting upright along the walls of the cave. Those shelves contained what looked like smaller bits of loot stolen from caravans and travelers. That had to be what it was, since I couldn’t imagine these guys getting into buying furniture just to break it up and burn it.

An assortment of uncut gems and various odd objects littered the shelves. In one area there looked to be what seemed like dried leaves within glass containers. Setting aside my weapon and gripping the remaining energy more tightly, I was plunged into darkness. By feel I opening up some of those containers and smelled the contents. Some of the scents I was familiar with, but there were several that I had never learned the scent of before. I added a mental note to look through my apothecary book later on.

After regaining my staff and resuming the sparking discharge, I looked through several other pieces of loot they had managed to accumulate. At the deepest part of the cave, there lay a heavily bound chest that was a little over a cubic foot in size. Kicking it lightly with my foot so as to not disturb the lighting I had going, it tilted back a little before coming back to the ground. It didn’t seem terribly heavy. Turning around to look behind me, I realized I had a straight shot from the part of the cave I was in, to the exit.

Releasing the last of my electrical charge which caused the darkness to swoop in on me, I bent down to feel around where I knew the chest to be. Then with my naginata in one hand and the chest in the other, I carried it out of the cave to the dwindling embers of the camp fire. The sun had fully set already and the only natural source of light was slowly dying. Following the example of the previous occupants, I simply grabbed more wood from their broken furniture pile to feed to the fire.

Soon enough, with a steady blaze lighting up the surroundings I turned to the smallish chest that I had pulled from the cave. Engraved in what looked like gold leafing, I saw images of angels, trumpets, feathers, and a few other things that I didn’t recognize. Turning it all the way around to see all the angles I saw that it had a simple key hole at the front. Looking at the edges of the lock, I saw what looked like minute scratches as if someone had already tried to pick it.

Well, where they were unsuccessful, I might have a little luck. I had one or two past hidden hobbies, one of which involved a brief interest in learning how to pick locks. I wasn’t terribly good at it seeing as I had given it up out of frustration. Lock smiths had long since switched to double edged locks with fake breaking points. These are a nightmare and an impossibility for the amateur lock picker. But here with near nonexistent technology, apparently they had to revert back to simple locks. Reaching down I gathered up some dirt in my hands and after some careful measuring of the key entry size, I created a crude stone key of sorts.

Bringing it up to the key hole, I began to slip it in, adjusting it as I saw fit. Then, with no intent on my part, the key turned to the side and lightly scratched against the outer edge of the key hole. ‘Huh?’ Again I tried inserting the key, but the result was the same as it swung to the size. It was as if the lock was rejecting the key. ‘Maybe that is why they hadn’t succeeded in picking the lock.’ I thought to myself.

Setting down the key, I then pulled out some of my soul energy to try and feel out the lock. As I began to shape my soul and fit it into the lock, I seemed to come up against a strange force that resisted my efforts. It had an odd feel to it. If I had to describe it, it gave off a kind of warm light in a different spectrum that couldn’t be seen but only felt. Narrowing my eyes at this unwanted obstruction, I brought a larger more concentrated portion of my soul energy to bare. Encompassing the lock and keyhole as much as I was able, with gathering determination I began to forcefully infuse the entire contraption with my own soul.

The resistance seemed to build up more and more, to the point that I was worried that I wouldn’t get anywhere. Then suddenly with a flash of light, the holy energy seemed to scatter about me as it shattered and dispersed. “Phew.” I cried out as I wiped my forehead free of sweat. “That, was a tough lock.” Now that I was certain of no remaining energy, I inserted the key and twisted. *click* “Huh . . .?” Interestingly, I didn’t need to do any further manipulation. The locking mechanism on the inside itself had apparently been amazingly simple. I figured it was due to the fact that they likely didn’t need much more protection than what they already had.

With no further hesitation, I cracked the lid to see what I had just gained. Pulling it back revealed a polished wood interior with a single leather scroll laying on top of another piece of leather.

Unrolling the parchment revealed several arcane looking scribbles. Even as I gazed at them, they seemed to resolve into regular English. As that happened, a spot on my chest began to feel warm. What the . . .? Reaching into my shirt, I pulled out the dolphin necklace that Gertrude had given me so long ago. It had become so natural for me to wear it, that I had forgotten its original purpose. It seemed to be a translator of written languages. As far as I knew this was the second language that it had opened up to me. The first having been the language of magic, whereas this seemed to be a holy or religious language.

The message said as follows:

The High order of Broan, God of Might and Wisdom, wishes to proclaim its appreciation of our latest initiates who have graduated with honors to join our ranks. It is with great pride that we bestow upon you the rank of Deacons and apprentices to our order . . .

After a few more flowery statement that included a lot of religious doctrine, congratulatory phrases, and such, it was followed by a list of 5 names.

Deacon Anna Piercing (Apprentice Priestess)

Deacon Lenny Hawkwing (Apprentice Scholar)

Deacon Isabella Starling (Apprentice Priestess)

Deacon Nathan Rockstar (Apprentice Bishop)

. . . What was up with the weird names? Must be all Travelers. The Last name on the list gave me a double take.

Deacon Stephen Highwalker (Apprentice Paladin)

“What?! Lynette’s Cousin?!” I cried out in surprise. “Ugh, I’m glad she is not here to see this.” I said under my breath. Unfortunately, this just made my quest to gain light affinity potentially that much harder. Still though, as long as I didn’t run into him, then things should turn out okay. I knew that there was more in the chest seeing as there was a bit of space between the bottom of the inside and the outside. Pulling back the piece of leather that had lain beneath the scroll, what was revealed beneath was quite the site. 5 softly glowing stones lay before me, embedded in a kind of foam or protective bracing.

“Well Damn.” I said to myself. If it weren’t for the fact that I couldn’t do magic, then I could have eaten a Light Stone and been on my way. These did look to be different from the Mage Stones and the glow stones that had been utilized in the Drake Cave. These had a strange and empowering feel to them, as well as a lighter coloring overall. In all honesty, I didn’t think that much could happen if I were to eat them, but you never know, it could help. It certainly shouldn’t be like the experience I had with the Earth Stones. *ugh* I shuddered in memory at that.

Just in case there happened to be a bad fallout from consuming one, I decided on setting up for the night first. Azure had already gone out hunting and brought back a few animals that hadn’t escaped her attentions even in the winter. Soon enough I had them cooked and we had polished off our respective meals.

After cleaning up after Azure and myself, I brought my naginata to my previous spot by the fire. Although nothing seemed to have changed in the weapon since the last time I pressed my soul energy and memories into it, I decided to try it again seeing as I had more to offer it. Even in this short time, much had happened since I’d had begun traveling with Lynette. Bringing all the emotions and experiences we had together to the front of my mind and soul, I began melding those sensations with the soul energy that I pressed into the weapon.

By the end of that, I only felt drained in mind, body, and soul, as I had forced myself to recall most everything that had happened with as much clarity as I could muster. In disappointment at the lack of any kind of response, I picked myself back up and gathering both it and the open chest, returned to the cave. As I lay down to sleep, with Azure by my side, I gathered up my mortar and pestle to grind up one of the Light Stones. Mixing it with water I was about to drink it when Azure nosed the chest with the remaining 4 Light Stones. I should have known. Pulling it open, I took out another stone and set it before her. With excitement in her eyes she began chewing at the stone breaking it down and swallowing the pieces.

“Well, if you are doing it then I have nothing more to worry. Bottoms up.” I said before drinking the granulized Light Stone. I sat there for a moment after I had downed it, but nothing seemed to happen. With a shrug of my shoulders, I lay down and went to sleep.

* * * * *

Sometimes I remember my dreams. Other times, they end up being a blank space where weird things happened that I never fully recall. The dream I had this night was nothing like what I had ever had before.

In the midst of my dreams I was transported somewhere. Memories, I felt that were intimately connected to my past or a past-self assailed my consciousness. I knew where I was. Somewhere that was as familiar as my own home. Staring out across the hazy field, I saw the aftermath of a massive battle that had taken place. Dead soldiers lay strewn about, as the bloody marks of their death created a massive piece of artwork. Many would say it was a work in progress, others a complete waste of human lives, and yet the last group considered it the ultimate blessing as every single one of them had died for the glory of their God. Yet many more would still be asked to give up their lives for the cause.

As the smoke began to clear, I realized I was one of the few chosen to live onward. To some degree, I felt cheated. Bereft of the ultimate prize of living together with the one that I worshipped, that I had fought for. It was a dream that so many others got to experience this very day. But just like this battle, I had fought many before it with the same outcome. I would continue living while others had died. Someday I knew my time would come and I would be accepted within the embrace of my God’s home.

Returning triumphant to my commanding officer, I was given accolades for the Righteous work I had done. No more would these people slander our God as they lived out their sad lives and sparse existence. I don’t know how they are treated on the other side of that mysterious wall called death. Maybe my God had mercy and teaches them of his glory, and maybe they are left to suffer for their unbelief. In any case, it is not for me to question the choices of one as powerful and magnificent as our deity.

Among the many god’s and goddesses of the heavens ours was the greatest, the one true God of Might and Wisdom. The Almighty God Broan. He was our leader and he understood our plight. Caring for his people and blessing them to live enriched lives. We even got to keep a portion of the spoils of war for ourselves.

Excitedly I mounted one of the many rider-less horses, so that I could return to the Holy City. Ever was I anxious to hear the next command of the Arch bishop, who was our direct communication with our God.

As I turned my new mount around, I gazed out across the field once again to see the blessed destruction that we had wrought. A swelling in my chest almost brought me to tears at the joy I felt. Maybe now, I’d be blessed with a command of my own for this day’s achievement. Just as I finished looking about, I caught sight of movement among the corpses, a single figure in crème spattered in red sat up among the surrounding mayhem. Then in a single motion he lifted up a bow pre-fitted with an arrow and let fly.

I could only watch as the single fletched arrow made an impossible shot that pierced my unarmored neck tearing out my vocal cords. A cowards shot, taken when the battle has already been won, and yet I was still struck. Falling off the back of my horse as my hands lost their grip on the reigns, I began to wonder. Did this mean that I was going to see my God, or was my death unclean due to the renegade actions of a cowardly soldier? Darkness seemed to take over me as I lost focus upon the dying soldier who had fired that single last shot. . .

* * * * *

Waking up from the darkness, I glanced about me at my new surroundings. This is me in my new life. I was Jade Storm a unique wielder of the elements and an expert in hand to hand combat. I couldn’t believe that I had been given a second chance to please my God. I must return to his side in service at once. “Azure!” I call out to my faithful companion. “Let us be off to the Holy City.” As my feline companion continued to sleep despite my attempts to rouse her, I gathered up the chest that I had found in the cave of these knaves.

Though they were a terrible blight upon the land, I felt I had them to thank for the light they had brought to my soul. Without them I would not have recalled my past life with such clarity, nor would I have felt such piece of mind as I now knew what I had to do.

Finally my companion had arisen as I had secured everything I would need in order to make the short trip to the Holy City. From my past, I knew that it was no more than a few hours walk from here. Surely I could find some fellow compatriots along the way that could speed my journey.

As we struck out, my white haired friend seemed to be in a daze of sorts or lost. Poor creature. Certainly the healers at the City could heal her ailment whatever it may be. Still, she followed me wherever I went.

A few hours of steady hiking went by. Carrying the precious chest in the crook of my arm, I was growing rather weary of also carrying this abominably heavy weapon as well. Still, I felt some attachment to it that kept me from casting it aside. Passing around a bend in the road, a wonderful sight met my gaze. The gates to the city lay just a few meters beyond our spot. And a group of compatriots were standing guard to protect the magnificent city.

Looking down at the poor animal who still seemed to be suffering from some ailment I could only hurry so as to get her healed. Certainly they wouldn’t begrudge the effort it would take to heal my companion. Not after all the good I had done for them.

“Hail, my friends!” I called out to the 4 soldiers at the front of the gates. “Hail stranger, what brings you to our Holy City?” They called back. Lifting up the chest, I presented it to them. “I found this among a group of bandits who terrorized the road. I was able to dispatch them that I might return this to its proper owners.” Their eyes glowed with light as they graciously accepted my gift.

“This is a fine day indeed to meet one such as you, we can see the light in your eyes. Can it be, that you too have found the light and the way that our God Broan has shown us?” They asked me. I felt pride swell within me as I looked upon those that I now knew to be brothers in faith. “I have. For I learned that in a past life I too was a follower of the way. Only now have I returned.”

“We accept you brother. Come join us in our city. We shall present you and your magnificent pet to the Arch Bishop. He will be well pleased with your gifts.” Together we headed into the city where I would soon retake my place in the army of my God.

As we traversed the many streets to the temple at the center of the city, I took in the sights of a city that had changed much since I had last seen it. Broan had done much to improve the quality of living for his believers. The streets were paved with white stone and homes were neatly arrayed with solid blocks in construction. The uniform of the guards had changed little. They still work a collared button up shirt that was brown and orange in color and pants that were sheer black. It was nostalgic to see so many things that were familiar to me.

A kindly old lady with a gap toothed grin was waving at me and the other soldiers. A street sweeper with a pair lightly soiled working clothes on gave a salute. Even a carriage driver that was heading past us to the gates and carrying a cage with a destitute man in it was waving hello.

Passing many more civilians, I could feel their awe at my presence and the presence of my pet. Whispers of conversation could be heard as we passed them. “Who is that man?” “Is that a White Tiger?” “. . .the bishop will be pleased with the gift of such an animal.”

A slight twinge filled my head at that last comment. With it, I felt a small bump against my leg as my pet rubbed against me. What were they saying? “Excuse me fine sirs,” I called out to my compatriots that were guiding me to see my bishop. “What did you say concerning my pet here?”

Smiling brightly at me they spoke up. “We were saying how the Arch bishop will surely accept you within our fold when you gift him with your pet.” The twinge I felt before grew larger and again Azure bumped up against my leg as we were walking. Something seemed to shake loose giving me a strange thought. With concern, I voiced my thought. “What do you mean when I gift him with my companion?”

Surprise showed across their faces at my question. “Surely you must know that such an amazing creature cannot be constrained by one as lowly as you or I. That is why your possession of this creature must pass to one who is more worthy.”

At that Azure bumped hard against me causing me to stumble a little. Some kind of energy seemed to flow into me from her touch. Suddenly that twinge in my head turned into a full on mind shattering pain. “Uuuuuugh!” I cried out at the pain as I fell to the ground.

“Quick! Someone get a healer for our friend here, something ails him!” Even in the haze of my pain I watched as 2 of the 4 guards took off running towards the temple. As they ran, memories and emotions came upon me in waves. . . . My first steps in the City of the Falls, . . . gazing out upon the beautiful crashing waters, . . . being terribly embarrassed by the threat of failing something . . . a date was it? More memories assailed me as I felt the emotions of a fragile girl who had just suffered a horrible ordeal, and then I remembered an exhilarating yet sad encounter with a majestic beast that had pleaded with me to take care of her cub.

With that last thought, I felt as if a haze that had been covering me had shattered. The remaining edges of the shattered pieces still caused great pain, but I was thinking clearly now. My naginata that had been terribly heavy up till this point suddenly became much lighter and felt more firm in my grasp. Azure no longer looked sick and delirious. And lastly I was beginning to feel an emotion that was very much proper for the occasion. I was PISSED!

Rounding on the 2 remaining soldiers that had accompanied us from the gates, I matched their gaze before my soul infused voice thundered out at them. “You Dare. . . You Dare To Take My Friend Away?!” I pressed my soul essence with terrible fury upon their bodies as they stood shocked at the man that had been just a few moments before shuddering in pain from some ailment. Here they had welcomed a friend into the city and too late realized that he most definitely did not follow their God.

“Azure!” I called out. Immediately she came to attention. “Let us get out of here while we can.” Although I wanted to beat those guards into the ground, I felt that it wasn’t their fault. They too seemed to have fallen to the effects of whatever I had experienced. Besides, taking on an entire city of religious fanatics did not seem like a winning situation.

Turning tail, we ran. “Stop him! Criminal! That is our lord Bishop’s Pet!” One of the guards cried out as they gave chase. Looking back briefly while I continued to run, I called out, “Screw you! To the one who called me a criminal.

As my view took in the direction of the exit gates, I watched in surprise as the various civilians that we had seen coming in that looked so peaceful before, were now converging upon us. The looks upon their faces were anything but the kind and respectful demeanor they displayed before. Even the kindly old lady that had been rocking in her chair smiling a gap toothed grin at everyone was now wielding a freaking rolling pin in her hands. Dammit, how could I be expected to hit an old woman despite how messed up in the head she might be. Besides which, where had she pulled out the blasted thing from?

Several times as Azure and I ran towards the arched gate of the entrance I had to block various weapons with my naginata. I refrained from delivering a killing blow to anyone fearing that I might get a bounty on my head. Although, looking at their crazed and fanatical expressions in the close quarters of combat, I was pretty sure they’d hound me to the ends of the earth anyways.

As we made good headway to the gates I saw that the carriage with the caged man was blocking the way. With seemingly an entire city worth of strangers on my tail, I was desperate to escape. With strength I didn’t know I had, I ran full speed at the carriage before gripping the railing closest to the horses secured to the front. Then I hoisted myself over the railing.

Azure easily soared over the same spot I had just crossed over and she safely landed on the other side. I on the other hand had gotten tangled up among the reigns and tethering of the horses. Damn my heavy pack and my stupid drug hazed mine for putting me in this situation. Seeing my distress, Azure promptly jumped back over the front waist high portion of the carriage where she confronted the thronging crowd. “Do not hurt the Bishops pet!” An authoritative voice cried out. ‘Oh good, at least Azure should be safe then.’ I thought to myself. “Kill the criminal though!” The same voice cried out.

Well that didn’t sound like anything I didn’t already know. As I struggled to maneuver the blade of the Naginata to cut the binding among the now frantic horses I felt a wave of heat wash over me. Azure was heavily alight with her blue flames. Reaching a good foot from her body even as the heat reached even further I was grateful that her brand of heat did not harm me. However I knew exactly what to do.

As the crowd was reflexively pushed back by the blazing heat, I reached my soul out and gathered the searing heat that came off from her flames. Though what I currently wielded was not flame by itself, it was however malleable. Compressing the heat into almost like a blade I then burned through all the ropes and tethers that surrounded me.

The coachman had long since ditched out on his ride and after realizing his mistake, had joined the throng in trying to reach me. The prisoner, . . . hey, I knew that guy. He was the one that I killed back at the cave. Anyways, he was flinching away from the heat that Azure was emanating.

With the horses now freed from their restraints, they both sought to dash off. However I grabbed the reins of one of them, and bound its feet with stone before it could run away with its companion. “Azure, thank you, now let’s go!” Mounting the frantic horse whose eyes were rolling in fear, I mentally shattered the stone binding its feet and it took off running.

Beside me, Azure was easily keeping pace. I felt that she could easily handle herself but was still glad to see that she had safely escaped that crazy city. Together we took off down the road far away from the city. . .

. . . It wasn’t till about half an hour later that the horse I was on was getting extremely lathered up as it ran. I guess the fear it gained from the crazed people, Azure on its tail, and me on its back was just too much. Not being an expert horse rider for sure, I was certainly not able to direct the creature. Azure had been doing that just fine for me from the rear. Coming around a bend in the road, I saw a rather nice looking pile of snow looming in the distance.

‘Better now rather than later.’ I thought as we raced towards the pile. Then without any shred of dignity I jumped/fell off the horses back and landed in the snow. *Ugh!* Even though it was soft, the momentum of my fall knocked me through the pile of snow and I slid a few feet before coming to a stop. “Phew!” I cried out in relief. Already the horse had taken off out of sight among the many pine trees and various shrubbery. I felt bad for the poor thing, but I had to get out of there in a hurry.

Azure looked to be running on empty and just plopped down on the snow next to me heaving in breaths of air. Reaching out to touch her she lightly licked my hand once before resting her head back down. “I . . . am so sorry . . . for what I got us into . . . Azure.” Having ridden the horse, I wasn’t quite as tired but I was more than sore from the constant bouncing up and down. I was feeling grateful that nothing was likely to be expected of my nether regions here in this game. For I feared that they wouldn’t work correctly after this anyways.

As we lay there each in our own personal world of agony or exhaustion, I was grateful to the silence that greeted my ears. Other than the continuous breathing there was silence. No sound of pursuit and no dangerous growling of nearby predators.

Finally, after resting for a good 45 minutes or so we were able to stand back up. I would have lain their indefinitely but the snow was already beginning to come down in a great fury. Looking to Azure I spoke up. “Do you know the way to the cave we were in?” With what I could swear to be a nod, she took off at a walking pace up and through what looked to be a corpse of trees.

Following after her with my ever sore body, we kept hiking for about an hour before the beautiful sight of the cave came into view. I was never more relieved to find shelter in this world before than I was now. Surely, since those that had pillaged the roads nearby here had managed to use this as a place to rest, then it must not be known by the patrols. In addition, the constantly falling snow should nicely cover our tracks.

Holing my-self up in the cave with Azure also feeling miserable, we waited and watched the storm as it covered the entire sky and surroundings with its thick frosty curtain. With no shortage of water from the falling snow, the only thing that we had to worry about was food. Gathering up my naginata, I bent down to give Azure a quick belly rub as she lay there upon my bed roll. Both pleasing her and creating a small static charge, I managed to lure the opposing electrical force up from the ground and yanked as large a portion as I could from its depths. Now I had a steady source of light as I again scoured the interior of the cave. Looking around for any sign of food, I kicked at various objects, spilling their contents.

As of now, direct contact with objects with my charged hand and my staff wielding hand was too difficult to manage with-out either losing the charge or losing the light. Finally, out of one sack rolled some food that looked to have gone moldy. Yuck. It was one of the last few that was left. After kicking open the last ones, no other kind of food showed itself. Feeling defeated at the hunger we’d have to put up with through the night I made my way back to the entrance.

As I got there I was surprised to see Azure standing upright, glowing lightly with her pale blue fire, and growling at the falling snow. Squinting my eyes to better see, I finally made out what looked like a few hazy forms with yellow eyes staring at her and me. Wolves!

With a thought, I released a charge of electricity into the ground which then drew up the opposing force. With adrenaline like strength I tore the electrical charge out of the ground, causing a rush of light to come streaming upward. Azure flinched briefly at the sudden light, while the wolves on the other hand jumped back a few steps, almost making them invisible amidst the falling snow.

“Azure,” I called out, “I need you to get behind me.” Glancing at me in curiosity, she complied. Now I myself stepped forward towards the pack of wolves I knew to be behind the snowy curtain. Seeing what they considered to be their real enemy back away, it seems they grew more courageous or maybe they were just desperate as they stepped closer to me.

Drawing upon my soul energy, I spread it out in front of me in a kind of open angle fan shape. Just as the wolves crossed into my area of influence, I focused upon releasing all that pent up electricity into their midst refusing it passage to the ground in the process. Arcs of lightening flew from my hands and latched onto the creatures that would guarantee them contact with their opposing element.

I should have closed my eyes before I released that energy, for now I could not see a thing. A growl sounded behind me and I felt the rush of air brush against me as I knew Azure had joined the fight. Yips and howls of pain could be heard and I felt a wash of heat as she must have activated her inborn ability. All the while this was going on, I had knelt upon the ground and held out my naginata cross wise as if to fend off any attacks that might come my way.

Too soon it seemed, silence filled the air. Glancing about with my still affected eyes, I sought to discover what had happened. Reaching outward with my weapon, I tried to reach out with my soul as well. As I drew upon it, I felt a flash of pain and a great stinging sensation in my nostrils and at the corner of my eyes. I wanted to find out what had happened to me, but I was even more concerned for my friend. “Azure, are you out there?!” I called out to the silence that was only broken by the rushing wind and falling snow.

Then a small sensation of heat began to touch upon me and grow. “Phew, you are safe,” I said in relief. I knew of no other creature that could summon heat that did not hurt me. Letting my weapon slip to the ground I felt her wet fur slide itself next to me even as she sought to comfort me. Wet fur?! Reaching around her to pull her close to my face, I took a long whiff of her scent. Oh thank goodness. I had thought it was blood. Though there was a hint of iron on the air, I checked her skin by feel very carefully and found no tears or scratches. It must have been the snow that melted onto her body while she was using her flames. That had to have been difficult to use while she was wet.

Even as I thought that, I felt her shiver with cold. Reaching around blindly, I made my way to my sleeping bag. Easing myself into it, I then helped to slide her inside with me with her head propped out from the opening. I hoped that no more creatures came upon us this night, because I was out of energy and Azure was chilled to the bone.

* * * * *

. . . Sleep was not easy coming with every noise that I heard causing me to flinch and glance about blindly. But somehow, it must have happened because the next thing I knew, I was woken by a dim light coming into the cave. Oh my sight was back. In the confines of the cave I looked around me and saw how many corpses of wolves there were. It had been a pack of 9 wolves. 5 of which looked to have been seared by my lightening on the spot. I don’t know how much, if at all the other wolves were affected by my electrical discharge, but I was again very grateful to Azure for her skill and dedication in protecting me.

When I had gotten up, she was still sleeping peacefully in my sleeping bag. Even now nothing seemed to change except the continuous rise and fall of her back as she dreamed whatever white tigers dreamed of. With the dim light coming in through the still falling snow, I dragged all of the wolf carcasses into the cave. Then as I realized our predicament of this much blood being a magnet to more predators, I sought to fortify the cave.

Though the entrance was wide, being about 4 meters in width and 2 in height, I still set to work on forming new walls to separate us from the outside world. Had I known all of this would have happened, then I never would have eaten that Light Stone and just fortified the cave when I first got there. Having just recently regained a portion of my soul energy, I pressed my hands against the ground and began manipulating the stone.

Without the aid of branches to form a sort of lattice-work and filler, the progress was slow. After about an hour with a few small breaks for a breather and some water, I finally sealed off most of the cave entrance with half a foot thick wall of stone. I left a set of bars at the top to let in the dim light of day which much of the snow continued to block out. After taking a much longer break from using my mind and soul, I then used my hands and my knife to skin and prepare the bodies of the wolves. Laying the bloody skins aside for now, I set to work on separating the meat from the bones. It was honestly gruesome work. Certainly I had done it before each time Azure had brought me a dead animal or 3 for our dinners, but somehow, knowing that these animals had been starving and looking to eat just as we had been, left a bit of an ache in my conscious.

Pushing that aside I knew that Azure needed the nutrients more than my conscious needed to be soothed. After gathering all the meat together in a single pile, I then touched the stone wall to manipulate it further. Creating a kind of oven/fir pit hybrid, I formed a chimney of sorts that could allow the smoke to better escape out of our little cave. Going back to the deepest part of the cave, I was able to gather by feel, some of the broken furniture. Dragging over the pieces, I set them in the pit and began shaving away at the wood to create kindling. Finally, after using my flint and steel, I got a decent fire going. Once again, forming a grill out of stone, I set the meat to cook.

The smell of cooing meat must have reached Azure even in her sleeping state, since soon she was dragging herself out of my sleeping bag. Making her way over to me, she lay down by the fire. “I know you just like meat in general, but do you want cooked meat or raw meat?” Careless of the blood all over my hands, I pulled several large chunks of raw meat and bones from the pile made from the wolves. Setting it before her, she excitedly got to work on tearing that meat into pieces and swallowing them down. After the meat was gone, she gnawed a little on the bones I had given her. Soon after, she fell asleep again while sitting by the fire.

Once the wolf meat had cooked enough for me, I created a small hole in the stone and formed a shallow indentation. Syphoning the heat from the fire to melt a bit of snow outside the enclosure I watched as soon enough a trickle of water poured into that indentation. Washing my hands of the blood, I then chowed down on the soon cool enough wolf meat.

* * * * *

Another full day went by with similar actions on both our parts. Azure slept most of the time, as if recovering her energy, while I focused on keeping busy with practicing my elemental control. I had finally gotten enough control over the electricity so that I did not need to focus it on my opposite hand. Instead, I was about to gather it up into my right arm while I held my naginata in my right hand. It took intense concentration, but with time I felt I could do it reflexively. This then freed up my left hand to do whatever I needed of it.

Soon I had all of the herbs that had been stolen, categorized as I learned their identities from my apothecary through deduction of herb descriptions and scents. Some ended up being simple spices, while others were quite rare and were central ingredients to instant manna and health potions. After draining one of my potions to assist in the healing of my legs and nether regions from the original escape on the horse, I finally managed to coax Azure into drinking one herself. She vehemently tried to refuse it, but in the end drank it down. With the now two empty bottles, I quickly made two new, more powerful healing potions from the materials I had just gotten my hands on.

Again the day went by and I had done nothing but wait in the cave while the storm outside got worse. When was it ever going to end? In any case, I lay down to sleep and logged out.

* * * * *

“Phew, that has been an intense while.” I said to myself as I stretched while getting out of the gel. Without any further hesitation, I did my normal work with stretches, swimming, eating, showering and soon returned to the game. It was amazing what my life had turned into since I had quit work and this capsule had arrived. I would have felt like a lazy bum, except that within the game, I had access to my real life ability at a level I could only dream of outside of the game. With a sigh I logged back in.

* * * * *

Waking to new light, I saw that the snow fall continued to rage on without change. This was getting ridiculous! Already I had made several nice changes to the cave, including a latrine and toilet of sorts through the use of my Earth Manipulation. Looking about me, I began to wonder what I should do.

Stepping out into the falling snow to get some fresh air, I left Azure inside as she continued to sleep. Walking among the blinding fall of snowflakes some of which measured an inch in size, an idea formed in my mind. Honestly, I hadn’t yet managed to get enough exposure to light or holy magic to get the affinity I was looking for, and if I had any plans to try gaining that affinity through the use of the local holy city, then now would be the time.

The snow should hide my presence really well and best of all, I wouldn’t be risking Azure since she was sleeping quietly inside. Though I felt horrible for doing this, after gathering a few healing potions with me, my compass, and donning my adamantine gauntlets, I sealed off the cave from the outside with Azure still in it. I did however, in the chance that I not make it back alive, create a thinner and weaker area in the wall that I made noticeable on the other side. She would easily break through if need be. From the outside, all of it looked equally strong and resistant to attack. Soon I was headed off in the direction of the city, feeling relieved that I wouldn’t be risking the life of my faithful companion.

I honestly didn’t have much of a plan as I neared my destination. Using the rugs that had been with the stolen caravan goods, I used that as a mask to protect myself from the extreme cold, and the easy identification of the guards. Prepared to run the moment I got there, I saw a pair of guards huddled miserably beside the open gate. As they saw me approach, they stood at attention. “Hail to our God.” They called out in greeting. Startled, thinking that they were calling me their god I was lost as to what I should say. Then as they seemed to start getting suspicious, I cried out. “Hail, to Broan!” This seemed to assuage their suspicions as they stepped back from me and motioned me through.

Passing in silence I left them to their miserable station and made a straight line to the temple. Even though it was close to mid-day, the sunlight was dismal and very few people were out on the snow covered streets. With the constant fall of those massive flakes it seemed they had decided to wait before dealing with all of the clearing of it. That was to my benefit as I saw the many chimneys from the houses and places of business putting out a steady stream of smoke. Though the cold bit at my uncovered nose and upper cheeks, I was grateful to the change in what I had to deal with.

Having not gotten quite as close to the temple the last time I was there, I looked up at it in amazement. Gleaming white stone that seemed even more beautiful among the storming skies shone with expert craftsmanship. My eyes even took in the massive stain glass windows that decorated the upper levels. The entire edifice seemed to be about 3 stories high with what I assumed to easily house more than 100,000 square feet or over 9000 square meters of interior space. It was huge. Pulling upon the doors, I was surprised to find them open easily at my touch. As I stepped inside, a rush of snow came in after me, briefly obscuring the entrance and any sight a foot or two in front of me.

Honestly I jumped a little when I could have sworn I felt something brush by me. But as the door closed and I looked around, I didn’t see anything other than the quickly melting snow that had followed me in. Silently I gazed at the inner corridor in awe. On both sides of me, I could see the same gleaming white walls but with solid meter thick pillars that lay every 20 paces or so to support the ceiling. Firelight could be seen dancing about in braziers that warmed the interior and lit the way. I kept telling myself that if worse comes to worse, then I die and get resurrected in a safe place. Damn them for making it so difficult to get Light Affinity without losing yourself in the process.

As my foot falls echoed lightly upon the hard stone, I padded carefully forward hoping first that there be no guards inside and that if there were, that they mistake me for a devout follower. Walking down the pathway, I saw that I was nearing a gigantic golden effigy that spanned the full height of the 3 story temple. This must be their god Broan. As I got close enough to see the expression on his face, it seemed to be turned up in an expression of benevolence and yet wisdom. The body itself was that of a muscular warrior while in each hand he wielded a sword and a shield.

To me it just seemed hypocritical after seeing what the city people were like. They were slaves and they didn’t even know it. Looking around me, I noticed that there were no guards or really anyone within the floor level of the temple. I couldn’t see the other levels that were shut off from the main chamber, but I assumed that there had to be someone in here. Making my way as close as I dared in the dim lighting of candles and braziers set about the massive gold statue, I slipped over to a medium sized statue of a horse and a rider that seemed to be paying homage to the larger statue of the god. To the right of that statue was another of, oh um wow! It was of a large tiger with still flames reaching outward as it too paid homage to Broan. That was why they were so determined to get Azure.

Standing there hiding betwixt the legs of the horse statue I could feel the holy energy flowing off of the godlike statue. Reaching out with my Soul Energy, I sought to better feel the power . . . “Ugh.” Shivering at the touch, it was like an all knowing force that considered me to be less than an insect. Considering me to be less than contemptible. Staring at the gold plated figure I felt a sudden urge to do some damage. This stupid god had almost cost me my best friend in this world and damned if I was going to let that go unanswered.

Even as I thought that I began to hear a low growling. ‘What the hell?!’ Gazing about me to pin down the source of that oddly familiar sound, I caught a movement of shadow beneath the legs of the White Tiger Statue. I face palmed myself at what I saw. “Dammit Azure.” I hissed under my breath. She glanced briefly at me with what I would swear to be a mixture of frustration as well. Then she turned back to the effigy to growl.

Then she paused as that seemed to be having no effect. Watching her to see what she did next, I was perplexed as I saw her squat down a little. Then . . . Oh my . . . ! Large brown nuggets began coming out of her rear plopping onto the ground 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . nuggets and then a small stream of diarrhea accompanied those heart felt gifts. She was depositing them beneath the statue of the White tiger. While struggling to remain somewhat silent and not die of laughter, I decided that she had a great idea.

Following suit, I dropped my pants as well, and began watering the legs of the horse statue. With my bare rear facing the statue of Broan, mooning him in all its glory. Pretty soon I began to feel a kind of heat that was different from fire beating down on me. Turing around mid-stream I saw that the golden statue was beginning to glow. “You know what? To hell with you too.” I called out as I released my seemingly unending stream of urine upon the large gold statue itself now. Then a blast of Holy energy crashed down upon Azure and me.

My need to pee suddenly seemed a minor thing now as I felt the wrath of a god’s displeasure. Pulling back on my now dribbling appendage, I quickly pulled up my pants and buttoned the top. “Let’s get out of here!” I cried out. Both Azure and I turned and ran. I guess someone besides us had felt the influx of holy power as well since I began hearing a stream of curses and clatter of metal as warriors flooded down from the upper levels. Ooops, maybe they were having a meeting of some sort when I came in. My bad.

Thankfully the pathway to the front doors of the temple had no obstacles to them. Seemingly because all of the would-be guards were behind us instead of monitoring the streets of the city. I guess maybe some other god or goddess was watching out for us as we desecrated a fellow deity. Broan must not be very high up on the list of likable divinities to allow us this much leeway.

Pushing past the large ornate doors, both of us disappeared into the heavy blizzard that seemed to have grown even larger if that was even possible. Running as best as we could, the two of us tromped through the high level snow towards the gates. It wasn’t till we were about a single meter away from the gate guards that a large bell began ringing throughout the city.

Not bothering to look back at what I believed to be another massing army of civilians and soldiers, we just dealt with what we had here. The two guards moved to block our way, but I was already in motion as I punched one of them in his unprotected kidney with my right hand and then bashed his head with the gauntlet of my left. Azure had simply gone for the kill as her victim was now clutching at his groin which was bleeding profusely. Well, some people might consider it a kill.

Together we then took off as fast as the snow allowed us to go. Azure began to blaze with her blue flame and I made a quick decision. Reaching down to pick her up, even as her fur released extreme heat, I guided that heat into a thin pathway in front of us. Melting the snow free path that was a few inches apart. As I ran along that tiny path trying to not disturb the snow on either side, I hope that the current blizzard would be too dense for the others to see our melted path.

I ran as I carried my precious cargo of a companion, trying to put as much distance between me and the pursuing soldiers. Several times I stopped using the heat to melt the snow and tried to jump a couple of spots in a different direction as I sought to confuse any that might have followed us. Finally after about 20 minutes of running, in which my arms were getting extremely tired, I practically dropped Azure into a snow drift. This was seriously getting to be too much with trying to get through the more than a foot deep snow.

Remembering back, I recalled movies where people would use tennis racket like shoes that they would walk on to stay on top of the snow. Reaching down, I brushed away a section of snow to touch the frozen ground. Though with hands growing numb I created 2 stone tennis racket like shoes that were wrapped around my current shoes. As I began to get myself up on top of the snow, I tilted backward and fell. It was actually that action which saved me in that moment. Where I had been before just a second ago was an arrow that had been shot right at me. Quivering just a few feet beyond where it had impacted a tree in its way, I gulped in surprise. Not waiting a second longer, I mentally broke my new shoes and set about using wind to clear the way. It no longer mattered that I hide my presence now that we had been found.

Searching around me amidst the crashing snow I searched for Azure but I could not find her. Trusting and hoping that she would be alright, I moved in on where I thought the archer to be. Instantly a shining blade was swinging towards me. Reflexively my right arm blocked it before the wielder could decapitate my head. A grunt of surprise and anger came from the figure before they swung at me again. As I fought him, another arrow came at me, which scored along my ribs causing a sharp pain which distracted me.

That distraction cost me another cut, from the sword wielder this time on my right arm, just above the gauntlets. This time as I took the hit though, I swung with my left hand to ram my opponent, but instead of him, I hit his damn shield! Where had that come from?! This snow and wind was distracting me and hiding too much from my sight.

Finally though, the summoned winds seemed to have done their job as they had cleared the ground of obstructing snow. Now I could more properly use my foot work. Sweeping out a leg, I followed up with a thrust to the chest of the warrior. This he easily blocked with his shield again as he brought his swords to bear, but I hadn’t expected to land a clean hit. I just needed the force to be enough to topple him over as my leg knocked his feet out from under him.

He went down in a pile of crashing armor. Quickly I summoned Stone to bind him into the ground itself sealing his movements. Turning away in relief, I looked about for Azure since I hadn’t seen here the entire time during my fight.

Suddenly, I felt an oddly familiar sense of heat that wasn’t heat wash over me. The sound of stone cracking assailed my ears as I turned in surprise. Caught entirely off guard I saw the sword wielding warrior lunging at me with a blazing white light in his hand. Having no time to bring up my guard, his sword slid unrestrictedly into my chest piercing through my right lung. Oh the agony that assailed me with that thrust was terrible. White light burst forth from the blade which almost seemed to cook my insides with holy fire. In addition to the feeling of having a burning long sword stabbed into you was the sensation of not being able to breathe.

*ting*

Light Affinity/Resistance: (Uncommon) Through your repeated exposure to the Holy light and power of Broan, you have gained an affinity and slight resistance to the effects of all Light magic. Through further exposure to Light or Holy magic, you may gain greater resistance and affinity.

I was so not in the mood to look at that announcement. But damn, if I knew that having a holy sword shoved into your chest was what it took, then I would have passed on getting this affinity. ‘And I didn’t even get the manipulation!’ I mentally screamed in rage and pain. However I had more pressing matters to deal with.

Blood had begun to bubble up from my lips as I sought to take in desperately needed oxygen. Then as the warrior pulled out his sword, I fell to the ground on my knees. Though I was greatly weakened and actively dying, which adversely effected my soul as well, I touched the ground and summoned Earth Spikes which pierced the shoes of the Warrior. Screaming out in pain, the man fell to my level as well. The strike that he had been readying to finish me off with never came as the sword fell out of his pain constricted hands.

Eyes glaring hate at me as we knelt there mere feet apart, me with my profusely bleeding chest wound and him with his stone impaled feet. I had honestly tried not to kill without a good enough reason up to this point, but this could not keep going on. With the last of my strength I summoned an even larger Earth Spike that came up from the ground piercing through his chest and into his heart. His entire body was raised up off the ground to lay suspended at the end of the spike. There he lay, an artwork dedicated to unnecessary death, even as his life blood dribbled down the pillar.

Struggling to take another breath as the world around me slowly turned hazy, I blindly reached for the health potions, hoping that they would work in time. Just after taking the first gulp of potion, an arrow came piercing through the air and struck me. I felt a brief sharp pain high up on my spine by my neck and then nothing.

Though I could still see, and even that was still fading, I couldn’t move or even breathe. No sensation was felt upon my skin from my neck down. Sounds still reached my ears which up to this point I hadn’t paid much attention to. Suddenly I heard a terrifying growl which tore through the heaviness of the storm. Even my face could feel the effects of whatever Azure had done. Damn it all! Here I was a useless piece of meat, laying about while my friend fought with her life on the line for my sake. I tried to reach out for my power but nothing seemed to come.

Fearing to close my eyes to better concentrate, I dared not to since I felt that once I did, they would not open again. Tears leaked down my cheeks. It seemed crying was all I was capable of at this very moment. Suddenly another sound came to me. That of metal cracking and bending, what in the world was that?! “Eyaaaaaaah!” A scream of terror came from who I assumed to be the archer as Azure hopefully made quick work of them. Then there was silence.

Laying there with my vision almost gone and my brain severely starved of oxygen, I thought I saw the form of Azure as she crawled down to my level on the ground. Looking at me with a face filled with sorrow and concern, she began to lick the tears from my eyes and then prodded me gently with her nose.

I knew that I wasn’t coming back from this. Resurrection was what I had to wait for. As I felt myself slipping away, I tried to speak, but nothing other than bloody bubbles made their way out of my lips. Then with everything that I had left in me, I felt a tingle of soul power ease up inside. Using that, I pressed my thoughts upon Azure. ‘Go . . . Go and return . . . *A mental image of the waterfalls filled my mind briefly*. . . I will come back. . . . . . . Back in . . . . in 6 . . .’

And then I was gone. . .

. . . I expected for there to be darkness, or light, or something, yet instead it felt like I was rising. Rising above my body and towards the tops of the trees. My vision which had returned and now seemed unimpeded by the massive blizzard was fixed down upon the ground as I saw Azure cuddling tightly against my body. ‘Please go!’ I mentally cried out as I watched her refusing to budge. ‘Please. . . I want to see you again.’ I begged. Soon a larger portion of the field where the battle took place, filled my view. There were 5 spots of blood smeared about the snow and 5 bodies. Mine, the heavily armored warrior, 2 archers whom I had never seen but only felt the attacks of, and another thankfully human, which was also dressed in armor.

Azure had taken on terrible odds to save me, and she had won, only to lose me in the end. Then as light did begin to cover me and my vision faded, I cried out one last time. “Go Home!!” And then there was nothing.

* * * * *

Current time in game about 4:00 pm of the 1st of January. Day 123 in game time. 100% pain level. Real Life June 28th about 5:20 am

* * * * *

A Fantasy in Time not attract as much of a crowd because they think it involves time travel? To me in an attempt to create a ‘play on words’ (not a play) that will become obvious by the beginning of the 3rd volume, I fear may be the reason I’m not getting as many readers. It does involve time travel to a degree, but neither the MC nor any of his companions past present or future have or get that ability. It’s more of an outside force that affects anything but it hardly affects the flow, location, or time of the story itself. I’m open to alternate Title ideas. Thank you!

http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=20763