A recap of Book 1, Demonborn's Fjord

Our Demonic-Fated protagonists, Rowan and Gabrielle LeMort, are chased into the Great Plains by the Blackwolf clan. Chief Nargol tastes Rowan’s blood, and sensing his latent demonic magic, he banishes them to a fjord in the Arctic Wilderness. It is late summer, and seasons only last a month on Sortis.

The LeMorts start construction of a settlement. They soon find out a gold idol is required to complete a town hall so that Gabrielle’s older sister, Tasha, can portal to their location with supplies and class tomes. Through a narrow (and only) mountain pass into a valley expanse, they find a small settlement of Woodland Trolls, who demand outrageous monthly tributes in the name of the Troll King. They also run a slave trade of Sun Elves. And when the Trolls decline to trade enough gold, the LeMorts leave peacefully.

The next night, the Trolls make preparations to Sacrifice a Sun Elf to their god, Zar’took, while the LeMorts gather a pile of animal bodies in hopes that ambient magic will cause a raging corpse abomination to spawn, but this plan fails. At the sacrifice, Rowan throws himself into the way to save the beautiful Elf’s life, and because he is a Demonborn, this summons the Demonic god Draesear instead.

Draesear resurrects Rowan and grants him and his wife their full Demonic bodies (They now look like pale Humans with crimson reptilian eyes and forked tongues). Burning sulfur then falls from the heavens, destroying the Trolls’ settlement. In the outpour of dark magic, a Corpse Hound spawns from the pile of animal bodies. By some luck (maybe thanks to Gabby’s Luck build), every Troll perishes while every Sun Elf slave survives the chaos, which is felt world-wide.

The LeMorts claim the slaves. Their names, professions, and combat classes are as follows:

Skylar Everbright (Farmer, Forester)

Viola Everbright (Farmer, Forester)

Faenin Elsinaire (Miner, Forester)

Liluth Valthrya (Forester, Woodworker)

Luthias Ilequin (Metalworker)

Zaine Daedan (Miner, Forester)

Over the next week, the LeMorts build up their settlement, fight off unwelcoming wildlife, and get to know the Elves, cajoling them to their cause with varied success. Skylar and Viola, young adult cousins who used to be Humans, are seemingly eager to join. Zaine is an angsty orphan teen who slowly warms up. Luthias is an old Elf who has seen atrocities in the war against the Trolls, and he pledges himself when Rowan promises that he will talk to Synaptic Entertainment about bringing back Luthias’ long-slain friends and family to the living plane. Liluth and Faenin, however, wish only to return to Elvenhome so they can start a family of their own, but they remain cooperative as a thank you for saving their lives.

Meanwhile, at the Human kingdom, Tasha NaMuso parties up with her new friend, Ayla Wintersbane . Together they snoop through Stonehurst Keep hoping to find something valuable, and in a hidden cabinet, they find exactly that: a Demonology profession tome and an unidentifiable glass sphere holding dark mana. The sphere breaks, opening a dimensional rift into the void. Mid-level Undead creatures spews into the town. Many NPCs are killed, but hundreds of adventurers bands together with the King’s Royal Guard. The Undead is driven back, and a Sun Elf Myrmidon (an acrobatic sword-wielding class ascended from Swordsman) defeats the final Lich elite. The LeMorts watch this all unfold on Doggo TheGamer’s MyTube channel, and decide they want to be Myrmidons.

Enter Jonathan Bladestrider, a young paraplegic who started the game with the Dragonrider Fate. At this point, his egg has hatched, and he is raising a Red Dragon Whelp, and happens to be hiding out at Stonehurst with his guild, Light’s Justice. Jonathan and his guild leader, Lance, figures out Tasha is Gabby’s sister, and combined with intel that the Blackwolf clan banished two Demons to the Arctic, they begin an expeditionary raid northward.

One of the NPC deaths at Stonehurst was a woman, Danielle. A player going by Tom Silverwind is distraught over her death and demands on the forums that his virtual girlfriend be brought back to life. Synaptic Entertainment obliges by executing a global event: meteors containing Soul Crystals (a rare item that can bring an NPC back to life) are now raining down onto Sortis.

A meteor holding over a dozen Crystals falls to LeMorts' fjord, giving away their location to scouting Troll raid parties. As the town hall’s construction is hours from completion, the Trolls strike. The LeMorts win the ensuing fight, then resurrect slain Elves, but Faenin and Viola will remain dead because their heads were destroyed. Skylar reveals that he and Viola are players who started with the Elf Slave Fate, and Viola will respawn at a Troll town many leagues away. Luthias revives with lost memories of his life because his head was damaged badly.

Tasha and Ayla recruit a pair of sick Elf orphans to replace Faenin, then meet up with the LeMorts, porting to their town hall. The orphans are quick to join the cause against the Trolls.

Saeya Shatumal

Jassin Elsinaire

Liluth begs Rowan (now an Enchanter) to build a Frost-enchanted tomb to stop Faenin’s body from decaying. He agrees, but he requires a piece of Crystal Ice (rare and currently sold out on the markets). With help from Gabby’s Luck points, he manages to craft a Solo Dungeon Keystone (Frosted Gemless Blacksteel), which takes him to an underground temple inhabited by low-level Undead. He finds what he is looking for in a chamber of ice, and watches a vision of himself and his wife dueling as Myrmidons.

At the fjord, Gabby (now a Cook) bakes a cakes and uploads a recording to MyTube. Immediately, the video is successful, but this also announces to the world that she is indeed a Demonborn. This causes moderate commotion on the forums, and someone leaks Lance and Jonathan’s plans to raid them. Gabby, hoping they don’t sail down the fjord from the Arctic Sea, orders Liluth (now a Builder) to erect a stone wall at the mountain pass.

Rowan makes it back before Faenin’s body decays. He Frost-enchants his tomb during the funeral.

Tasha and Ayla scout out a giant spider infestation around an ancient manawood tree near the Troll’s destroyed settlement. The Spider Queen kills them, and they respawn at an Elven graveyard where they recruited Saeya and Jassin. They buy more supplies and port back to the fjord through a portal building.

Later that night, the spiders attack the fjord, storming down the mountain pass, but thanks to the wall and fire grenades crafted by Rowan, they are more than prepared. They slay hundreds upon hundreds of spiders, including the Queen Spider. Before delivering the final blow, Gabby decides to spare it so it can be trained as a night guard. The Queen abruptly undergoes a metamorphosis into an Adamantite Spider Queen. Rowan nearly dies, but the Elves back him up and subdue the Queen. Gabby then uses a Soul Crystal on its head and enslaves it with a Slave Enchantment Stone that Ayla earlier bought for her. Ayla also kneels to the LeMorts, willingly becomes a slave, and soon offers her Luck necklace to complete the accessory set that Gabby was collecting.

Jonathan and co meet with Nargol at the Great Plains in a temporary truce. Nargol claims that his weapon, Valdraed, has three charges that can port a party to an unknown location at Swinetooth Peninsula. There are two charges left. Jonathan convinces everyone to trust Nargol. They arrive on a beach under stars and crescent moons. In the distance there is a mountain range, and they don’t know there is a fjord on the other side.

As the LeMorts investigate the ancient manawood tree, the twin moons casts a total solar eclipse, bathing the valley in dark magic potent enough to mutate trees into low-level enraged Ents that Rowan easily fights off. As the ancient manawood tree then begins to mutate, they quickly retreat.

Jonathan’s party is chased by the Manawood Ent toward the mountain pass. The LeMorts' ambient Demonic magic, which invokes feelings of euphoria, puts Jonathan on a manic high. He runs ahead of the party and charges at Rowan. A brief sword duel ends with Jonathan’s death.

The eclipse ends. Dark magic lifts over the valley, and every last Ent turns to mulch. Rowan kills Lance’s only Healer. Their raid party is in no condition to fight after sustaining heavily injuries from the Manawood Ent’s attacks, so Lance (who is a famous gamer with a million-subscriber MyTube Channel) has a peaceful chat with the LeMorts, then ports out with a recall enchantment stone.

At Gabrielle’s reminder, Rowan logs out to re-schedule a missed doctor’s appointment.

* * *

Chapter 1

Rowan pushed out of his virtual reality pod, feeling refreshed and energized. He had expected aches and cramps, but every muscle and joint in his body was ready for a marathon and then some. He was feeling more youthful too. He walked to the mirror on the wall, swore lines under his eyes had faded.

Beneath the mirror, Gabrielle’s face was serenely calm in her pod. Her real life body was without a speck of injury. Safe. Though she was delicate here, this world was not dangerous as Sortis, and he was thankful for the stability and security of all these supercities, of this mundane society, if nothing else.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Rowan grabbed his phone and dialed the clinic.

An answer chimed after two rings: “Hello again, Rowan. I’m Dakota. If you don’t remember, I’m an advanced artificial intelligence medical assistant. Are you calling about your missed appointment? Would you like to re-schedule?”

“Yes, I would. Please give my apologies to Doctor Walker.”

“I will do, but it is no problem. We are happy that you and Gabrielle are alright. We can reschedule you to next Saturday, same time. Would that work for you?”

“Yes, that’s good.”

“Alright then. Thank you for checking in. Goodbye.”

“Seeya.”

Like before, the call ended with a fake tactile click. But unlike before, he was not so dismissive of Dakota. Suddenly, she felt a lot more real, as though he were talking to a real person. His imagination now sketched a motherly face to go with the voice. Had interacting with the Elves influenced him so much?

Admittedly, yes. He had grown attached to those quantum bits. Too attached.

Maybe it’s time for a breather.

Rowan swiped his access card, slid open the frosted glass door, then followed arrow-signs toward a communal area for players. The signs weren’t needed. Aroma of pizza was strong enough that he let his nose do the walking. Before he knew it, he was standing in a hall filled with artwork of the many games Synaptic had released through the decades.

A sprinkle of players and Synaptic employees in company T-shirts were mingling about. A pair of young guys near the door instantly noticed Rowan and approached. The taller guy, perhaps in his thirties, said in a hushed tone, “Rowan LeMort?”

It took a moment for the voice and face to register—Lance Rider. “Who else? Nice to meet you.” He offered a handshake.

“Same to you.” Lance accepted with a firm grip. “I thought I recognized you from somewhere.” He chuckled, then leaned in. “So about your slaves…”

“You’ve got complaints?”

“Me, personally? Mmmm. Not so much. But the Sun Elf Queen? I imagine you’re going to be hearing from her soon. Grant from my guild says that one NPC you had with you, Luthias, is one of their honored Knights.”

Rowan’s gut clenched a tad. “I know.”

The other guy, their Mage from the raid, said, “You haven’t thought it through, have you?”

“I have thought about it. And your name is?”

“Dorian. Dorian Ambersworn.”

How many Dorians were there? Rowan squinted at a painting of a scantily-clad Sun Elf for a moment. “I have to say I don’t recall.”

“You can’t be serious.” His smirk was arrogant. “I’m rank three on the deathless leaderboard.”

“Over eight thousand here,” Lance added lightly.

Rowan shrugged. “I haven’t been keeping up with that.”

“You don’t know about the prize?”

“It’s like, what?” Rowan’s nose wrinkled. “Five hundred credits for first place?”

Lance said, “The bragging rights could help with your MyTube channel. I would definitely mention it.”

Of course, Rowan was not going to grovel for shout-outs. “It could, but I’ve been busy with… other stuff. You know.”

“We definitely do,” Dorian said, “We had a big food scare a week back. What about you? Lost any Elves to starvation?”

There was no real reason to lie. “Nope. We’re doing pretty well in the food department. Gabby, as you know, is a Cook.”

Lance smiled coyly. “She is very talented. Where is she, by the way?”

“Still in game.”

Lance’s surprised expression was quite exaggerated. “And you’re here slacking off?”

“I’ve earned a break,” Rowan said matter-of-factly. “And you two? Don’t you have a guild to run? A dragon to raise? I read they have the diet of a hundred guys once they’re grown.”

“That’s Jonathan’s business,” Dorian said flatly.

Lance grunted agreement. “Yes, it will have to be his responsibility.”

Rowan asked, “Was Jonathan…” Faces matched to names, and Rowan noted Doggo TheGamer was the Archer. “Was he the Rogue?”

“Swordsman,” Dorian muttered. “The one you killed.”

“Wow.” Rowan swallowed a smile. “What happened back there? He just charged right on ahead.”

Dorian’s sleek eyebrow arched. All his facial features were sleek. He looked a lot like a Sun Elf, honestly. “You can’t feel it? Your ambient magic is like volcano of happiness.”

“Oh… You get used to it. I guess it’s like sense of smell.”

“It actually is,” Lance said. “Hadrian from my guild did a lot of research into magical sense. You should check out his thread in the strategy section.”

Rowan nodded. “Right, but back to Jonathan. How does that stuff with the dragon work?”

“You’ll have to ask him,” Dorian said.

Rowan wanted to pry, but a Synaptic employee in a blazer slipped into the conversation with a boisterous clap of his hands. His name tag spelled out: Tim Weiss. He whistled. “I see famous faces, but famous or not, I have news straight from the lead designers and upper management.” His demeanor was suddenly grave—directed at Rowan. “We’ve been discussing the slave brands for some time, and, with all honesty, it is one of the most polarizing features in the game that the AI controller added.” He took a dramatic breath.

Irritation tingled on Rowan’s skin. “And?”

“That’s all. We’ve been discussing, and we would like you, Lord LeMort, to know we are very closely monitoring player stress levels.” He glanced at Lance and Dorian. “But the same goes to all players. Do you catch what I’m saying?”

The cousins. And Ayla. They were player slaves. But Ayla more so because of Skylar’s desire for her. This was Tim's drift. Well, this was to be expected. Synaptic’s reputation was on the line. Such a reputation was worth tens of billions of credits.

Rowan put on an appropriately mellow though confident expression. “Of course. There’s no concern. You can trust we wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardize our MyTube channel.”

Tim was all smiles again. “Great! Then I am happy to personally inform you that a new leaderboard competition has started moments earlier. The first full raid party to deathlessly clear a triple-S difficulty dungeon will be eligible for an eighty-thousand credit prize, and NPCs are allowed in the party. How does that sound?”

A speechless paralysis cemented Rowan’s jaw. A prize like that was enough for a down-payment on a house… but it would be split eight ways assuming eight players. Still, ten thousand credits was a decent sum for playing a video game. He was in. “It sounds like a challenge. I definitely have work to do.”

Tim gave a thumbs-up. “I wish you the best of Luck, adventurers.”

Lance said, “Same here. The Royal Guard’s expecting a report.”

Dorian rudely followed without comment, power walking ahead, almost bumping Rowan’s shoulder. Almost. What was his problem? Competitiveness or simply jealous that he didn't start with a legendary Fate? Rowan didn't care. There was going to be plenty of opportunities for virtual violence.