March 23rd

Year 2120

City of Arthol

Kingdom of Fergahn, Gartaena

Merdilen half-threw himself, half-fell from the side of the tower, his right side and left shoulder badly wounded and bleeding. It was most probable he wouldn’t have time to fully turn to Transmutate with his hands, so he would have to take a big risk, and gamble his life. Even though he had just unlocked that ability, he would have to Transmutate with his back, so if he somehow wasn’t able to now, he would crash against the ground and probably die instantly. He had to time it perfectly, because if he crashed against the ground instead of going through it as he was planning, he would be done for.

Even if he somehow survived the massive fall, he would have to somehow face off against dozens of city guards while heavily wounded. Even if he managed to miraculously defeat them all, he would then have to somehow outrun the killers while on the verge of death. Those were too many somehows. Either he perfectly Transmutated the ground with his back, or he died. Still, even if he executed it all perfectly, he could only pray that there were actually sewers beneath them as he had planned. If not, he would just be stuck in a hole a few feet deep, and guards would pierce him with their swords before he was able to even realize there were no sewers there.

He kept falling, and when he saw he was almost at the ground, he directed all his power to his back, ready to Transmutate. He fell past the surprised but ready city guards, and the instant he touched the ground, he released his power. The whole section of the stone ground he was on turned into sand, and he fell straight through. To his enormous relief, there were actual sewers there. He fell straight into the pile of Transmutated sand, into the sewers. That was enough to prevent him from dying, but he still crashed against the floor with enormous force, screaming. But, he couldn’t allow even the slightest moment of hesitation, so he turned part of the sand back into stone, blocking his entrance and leaving the guards out. He had escaped.

Merdilen allowed himself a few seconds to breathe, but then tried to stand up. This place would be swarming with guards in no time, and he had no strength left to fight. When he tried to stand up, he felt a sharp crack in his right side, and felt in agony the fall had broken several bones. He didn’t have the strength to walk to a proper exit from the sewers, so he stumbled toward one of the walls, and Transmutating it, entered and locked himself in, as to not be found when the guards eventually checked the place. He sat down with his back against one of the walls of his small enclosed room, and because of the loss of blood, lost consciousness once again.

“What is wrong with you?!” Sir Grendar roared at Kayline, looking at her furiously. She was still looking dumbfounded at the place where the Transmutator had disappeared, not believing how stupid she had been. “You had him right there! Why didn’t you kill him?!”

“I-I don’t know,” Kayline muttered, not knowing what to say, and started to try taking off her now-stone jacket. “I think I slipped. I-I’m sorry.”

“We thought you had it under control,” said Jarleren in a cold voice. “Next time, I’ll go for the neck.”

“I didn’t mean to!” was all that Kayline was able to say, trying to excuse herself, but she knew they wouldn’t forgive her easily.

“You didn’t mean to?!” bellowed Sir Grendar. “My ancestors lost their lives fighting against the first Transmutators centuries ago in the Transmutation War! This is a battle my family has carried down for generations, and you just ruined my chance to avenge my forefathers! Not just that, but mankind’s fate is in danger, and you may have just sealed our doom! Because you slipped! Besides, if we don’t find him now, we will have no way of finding out where he is, as he will be way more careful now!”

Surprised by his sudden outburst and revelation, she wasn’t able to answer anything, and Sir Grendar left full of anger, probably to start searching once again for the Transmutator. The rest of the Anti-Transmutation Strike Team followed in silence, leaving her alone on top of the tower. She punched her thigh in frustration.

How could I have been so stupid?, she thought to herself, clenching her teeth and fists. Why did I not kill him?! I know perfectly well I didn’t slip. Did I just show mercy? Did I just show mercy to a potential mass murderer? What Sir Grendar just said is true. We have no way of knowing where he’ll go now! The sewers were a massive labyrinthian complex spread all below the city. Finding someone there would be nearly impossible.

“Don’t worry,” she then said, catching up to the rest. “It won’t happen again. Next time, I won’t hesitate in doing what’s right.”

Merdilen woke up several hours later, with a blurred vision and his whole body aching painfully. It was a miracle he was still alive. As his improvised cavern had no windows, it was completely dark in there, so there was no way to know with precision what time of the day it was, but he was starving, so he supposed it was around midnight now. He sat up, barely managing to hold back a scream, tried to direct his power towards his right side, as it was his most-damaged body part, and started to heal. He was now extremely weak, so it took the better part of an hour to heal his stab wound and fall damage. As he was unable to move during that period, he had plenty of time to think.

Why am I alive?, he wondered. The red-haired girl had the perfect chance to kill me. I would have had no way to defend myself. Why did she stop herself? Was it mercy? Was she trying to pay me back for me not killing her the battle before? She clearly did it on purpose. She stopped practically in mid-air. But it doesn’t make sense. This is her job, isn’t it? Why would she do that? The thing is, I have no way of knowing. I have to focus on what I do know.

She had some kind of coating in her swords, which let out a high-pitched ring which stopped me from Transmutating. That’s extremely dangerous. I can hold myself with my sword against a common opponent, but there’s no way I would survive another battle against them without my Transmutation. This time, I was just lucky. I have to get stronger, and quick. I already know they aren’t open to talking. I have to find a way to defeat the killers before they end up killing me.

He started thinking about new skills, but none of them seemed to be possible for him yet. And as he didn’t know when the killers would strike next, he couldn’t risk training. He had to be on a constant lookout, and therefore he needed an immediate way of getting power. The logical choice would be to look for notes or something in his ancestors’ house, as it had been the dwelling of the first Transmutator, but there was nothing left there. He had never understood why, but his ancestor had completely destroyed everything in his house that might help a Transmutator gain power. As it had been so long ago, he supposed he would never find out why. The facts were, there was nothing left there that would be able to help him now.

But then, he realized. True, his ancestor had destroyed all the information he had concerning the Transmutation. But if he remembered correctly, the Transmutation War had started from two opposite Transmutators. So, although it wasn’t probable, the other Transmutator’s fortress might have the information he needed. There were many problems with that, though. First of all, he had no clue where to find the fortress. Second, if that was the Transmutator that had created the shadow monsters, all the surrounding area would be swarming with them. And third, he had no way of knowing if he would be able to get to the fortress before the killers found him and killed him. He didn’t know if he would be able to outrun them. It would be an absolute gamble. It would be very hard. It could require crossing a world full of enemies. But if he wished to survive, he had to.

Merdilen finished healing his side and turned to his arrow-pierced shoulder. The arrow had completely gone through his shoulder, its sharp metal point sticking out. He Transmutated a stone into pliers and broke the arrow’s tip. He then grabbed the arrow’s shaft and prepared to pull it out. He clenched his teeth, and pulled. It hurt terribly, but the arrow went out, leaving a long and thin hole in his shoulder, which he immediately covered and started to heal. It hurt terribly.

Why does everyone hate me so much?!, he thought, clenching his teeth with tears of pain in his eyes. Since I left the home of my forefathers, not a single person who has known what I am has smiled at me. Not a single person. All I have met is hate, and since I left, people have tried to kill me four times, in two of which they were close to succeeding. They should be glad to have someone with my abilities wanting to help them. But now, my objective is to simply survive. This is not at all what I expected to be welcome with.

So, with those bitter thoughts, he finally got up, and Transmutated his way out of his small cavern and back into the sewers. They were long stone tunnels that ranged the whole city from underneath, filled with dirty brown water with a terrible smell. As Merdilen had seemingly been unconscious for several hours, the guards were long gone, and there was no one close but him. He was almost fully healed now, and he started walking through the sewers, splashing on the brown water and forming echoes through the sewers, that thankfully didn’t attract any unwanted attention.

He walked for several minutes until he saw a side stair that spiraled upwards, and headed towards it. When he reached the top, he emerged into a small passage between two buildings, with no one close to be seen. The cool night air felt great in comparison to the enclosed odor of the sewers, and he breathed in, feeling his energy slowly return. As the moon was on the middle of the sky, it was already midnight, and he still felt extremely tired and exhausted.

But he couldn’t stay there, and so he started to walk in no particular direction, just to get out of that city. As it was around midnight, there were very few people around, and he was able to evade them easily. He kept walking until he reached a small plaza, full of grass and a few trees, with benches laid out around it and a water fountain in the middle. On one side of the plaza, next to a house, stood an announcement board, from which a certain piece of paper caught his attention.

It was a ‘wanted’ poster, which depicted a young man with wild blond hair and deep black eyes, wearing a black jacket with a high collar. It was Merdilen. ‘The Last Transmutator,’ read the caption below the drawing, next to the immense sum of two hundred gold coins, which amounted to about a year’s worth of work for a common worker. He was quite a big deal now. But that scared him. It meant he probably wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without being recognized now, and that bounty hunters would probably start searching for him. But he couldn’t worry about it now. He couldn’t let himself be paralyzed by fear.

Would he want to live in hiding forever? Would that make it worth it for him to have left his ideal life at the home of his forefathers? No. He had chosen to have a life of adventure, and so he wouldn’t turn back. He had no friends. He had no family. Not a single person would smile at him. So, he didn’t really have anything to live for. More than that, he didn’t have anything to risk. If he went down, he would go down fighting. Even though there were probably hundreds of others spread around the city, he ripped out the ‘wanted’ poster and kept walking.

Kayline woke up and got up from her bed. They were staying at a government-paid inn, still in the city of Arthol, as their mission was now to kill the Transmutator, not to bring back information about him, so they didn’t have any reason to go back to Cornaler. As the government was paying for their stay, they had the best room in the inn, but Kayline still didn’t sleep well. She had slept worried, as the Transmutator could be anywhere now, and if the Transmutator did any damage, it would have been her fault for not killing him. Worst of all, they couldn’t even go after him, as they had no way of knowing where he was now. They could only wait for reports.

She got dressed and headed out of her room, up the stairs that led to the inn’s rooftop. Sir Grendar was standing there with his arms crossed and looking into the horizon, as if he expected to spot the Transmutator from that rooftop.

“I’m really sorry…” Kayline told him, feeling the need to apologize again. “I don’t know what I was thinking, but I will kill him for sure next time.”

Sir Grendar didn’t say anything for a while, but then spoke.

“October 3rd, 2116. Do you remember what happened that day?”

“Kind of…” Kayline answered. “I remember some kind of accident happened, but I don’t really remember the details.”

“A group of five little kids went on an expedition. They were happily playing around a massive crater, looking into it, dancing around, and enjoying themselves,” he said somberly. “But a section of the crater’s border was unstable, and when they stepped on it, they all fell down. They hit their heads, and they all died instantly. I knew the mother of one of them. She is still going to the psychologist, trying to cope with the pain and grief.”

“That’s horrible…” Kayline genuinely muttered.

“Do you know why there was a crater there?” Sir Grendar then asked, still looking far at the horizon. “It was left from the Transmutation War. It was so massive mankind was never able to fill it up. The Transmutation War destroyed the world, and it’s still taking the lives of innocents to this day. Do you want another Transmutation War to erupt? I’m fighting to prevent the Transmutation War from ever happening again. Aren’t you fighting for the same thing?”

“...I am,” she answered with determination. “I won’t hesitate again.”

“When in doubt, just remember what you’re fighting for.”

“I will.”

So with that, Sir Grendar left her alone and headed back down the stairs. Kayline stayed there, looking at the city. It was very busy and noisy, with the streets full of people going to work and children heading to school. Merchants were advertising their wares and products on the market below, and she noticed the federal prison was covered by people trying to find out the source of all the commotion. Children were playing in the streets, and she could hear their laughter from the rooftop. It was overall a pretty and cheerful sight.

Torlen would love to see this, she thought, thinking about her brother. So, after looking once more at the city, headed down to her room. She reached for her backpack, and out of it took a medium-sized notebook and a pencil. Her job had always taken her around the world, so she was always visiting new places. Her brother was always interested in her travels, and so she tried to always draw at least one place she visited before going back. She headed back up and, sitting down on the parapet, started to draw. She didn’t know when she would go back to her home, but when she did, she would have plenty of stories to tell and drawings to draw. But for now, all the Anti-Transmutation Strike Team could do was sit and wait for reports of the Transmutator.

Merdilen woke up a few hours later, and got up from his soft and comfortable bed in the middle of the woods north of Arthol. Luxuries of being a Transmutator. He hadn’t dared to make anything more, though, as he couldn’t risk being seen. He sat down on a fallen log, and Transmutating part of the ground, made breakfast. As he couldn’t Transmutate anything that had once had life except for his own body, he wasn’t able to make any kind of meat, fruit, or vegetables, so he resigned to bread, nuts, and other non-living foods. It wasn’t ideal, but he was used to it. He then Transmutated his bed back into dirt as to not arise suspicion, and started walking his long road north.

He didn’t have the slightest clue about where the enemy fortress could be, but he knew of a place where he would be able to find out. Mithforden. The City of Knowledge. Mithforden was known to have raised several kings, and it was said to have the best universities, not just of the kingdom of Fergahn, but of the whole world. People claiming to have grown up in Mithforden were hired anywhere almost immediately.

But Mithforden’s crème de la crème was, by far, the House of Records. The House of Records was a massive tower which, as the name said, was said to house every single record in the world of Gartaena. If the enemy Transmutator’s fortress had ever existed, its location would be found there. The thing was, it was four days away on foot and two by horse. But not only did Merdilen not own a horse, he didn’t even know how to ride one. It would be a long trip.

With just the clothes he was wearing, Merdilen left the place he had slept in, and started walking. The day was pleasant, as it was neither hot nor cold, and the shade from the trees let just little rays of sunlight slip through, which along with the melodious chirping of the last birds during autumn, made it a perfect day for trekking. Although he wasn’t with his walking stick this time, he had a Transmutation glove on each hand and was constantly on edge, so he would be able to get his trusty sword immediately if he ever needed to.

He kept walking for several hours, and long after leaving the city of Arthol behind him, sat down on what seemed like a comfortable spot to have lunch. He ate a similar menu to his breakfast, and when he stood up, he realized something. He didn’t know exactly where Mithforden was located, as he had lost his map when he had been captured. He knew it was about four days north of where he was, but if he started walking just a few degrees in the wrong direction, he would end up somewhere completely different. He would have to stop at the first village he saw and just hope no one noticed him.

After a little while longer of walking, he spotted the first fields and crops that made a village. It was very similar to the village of Berken, and so it should be able to provide what he needed. It had a big road crossing it through the middle, which he supposed was the Prince’s Road. The Prince’s Road was nicknamed like that by locals, as it ran parallel to the King’s Road but it was noticeably smaller. He Transmutated his long black jacket into simple farming clothes in order to not arouse suspicion and headed towards the town. He also Transmutated some dirt from the ground into a few gold coins in order to buy what he needed. He hated cheating the system like this, but it was only for emergencies.

Merdilen arrived at the center of the town, in which were a few shops and small buildings. There weren’t many adults to be seen around there, as he supposed they were all hard at work at that time. There were many children playing tag there, though, and they all looked at the stranger with curiosity. He kept walking towards a store called the Verline General Goods Store and entered. A bell rang when he open the wooden door, and an old lady standing behind the counter greeted him.

“Hello, I’m going to want a map of the kingdom of Fergahn, a compass, and four days’ worth of salted pork,” he told her when he reached the counter.

“Right away, young man,” she said, but then suddenly started to inspect his face. “You look familiar… Have I seen you before?”

“...I came to this town about five years ago. You must remember me from back then,” he tried to bluff, hiding his nervousness.

“Okay then,” she said and turned around, but instead of grabbing the products he had asked her for, she started to frantically ring another bell. “The Transmutator is here!” she shrieked.

Merdilen tensed and turned around just as three men with swords entered the store. ‘Wanted’ posters with his face were spread all around the kingdom of Fergahn now. Of course everyone would recognize him.

“Transmutator, for failed mass murder and possibility of future attempts at the same charge, you are under arrest,” the first guard said. “Kneel down with your hands behind your head.”

“Those are not real charges, are they?” Merdilen asked.

“Shut up and obey!” the second man shouted.

“Okay, okay!” Merdilen exclaimed, and raised his hands. But then, he jumped backward and grabbed the map of Fergahn that was hanging from the wall. The guards sprang at him, so he half-jumped half-tripped backwards, towards the farther wall. He flicked a gold coin towards the old store owner, and Transmutated the farther wall into sand with his back, tripping through it. He then Transmutated it back to stone with his hands and dashed towards the forest with the map grabbed tight in his left hand. He kept running for a while, until he no longer could hear guards behind him. He sat down on a rock to catch his breath, and looked at the map.

It was a detailed map of the kingdom of Fergahn, and it showed all the settlements and roads he needed to know about. He hadn’t gotten the salted pork, though, but he could make do without it. Not having the compass would be troublesome. He technically knew how it worked, but he didn’t really know how magnets worked, so he wouldn’t be able to get one until he arrived at the next small settlement. For now, he would be able to guide himself by the map and the terrain, but it would be harder to. Still, he now would be way better off than without a map, so it was of no use pondering about what could have been.

His enemies had no way of knowing where he was headed to now, so it should be an easy journey. He got up, and guiding himself by the map, started walking towards the city of Mithforden.

Merdilen had kept walking for the next day without any complication bigger than detours. He didn’t have a compass, and even though all the landscape in Gartaena was easily recognized because of its chaotic nature, he kept accidentally steering to the east. Once, he had been confused by giant boulders that looked extremely similar, and so he had ended up in a town several hours east of where he needed to be. But still, he had been making overall good progress, and only two days were remaining for him to reach Mithforden. He was now lying on the ground in the middle of a small forest with his arms stretched from side to side, resting.

He had been there for a while already, and so he sat up to check his map. The moment he did, he felt something fly right past him, and he heard a loud piercing sound as it buried itself deep in the dirt where his head had been a moment ago.

An arrow?! he thought, shocked. He turned to his left and saw another arrow flying at him. He Transmutated part of the sand in his Transmutation gloves into a small shield, in which the arrow buried itself in with a loud ‘tuck!’. Far away to his left, deep in the trees, he saw its source. It was a man wearing a brown shirt and pants with a long bandanna covering his head’s lower half. He was wielding a longbow and had a quiver with dozens of arrows slung over his shoulder. He was not a kingdom guard, but as he seemed to be alone, he wasn’t part of the killers’ party either.

A bounty hunter, he thought, surprised. I wasn’t careful enough in the village of Verline. He must have followed me. Merdilen Transmutated part of the ground into his black sword, but as the bounty hunter was so far away, there wasn’t much he could do with it. All that was left was his Transmutation. Most of the times he had used Transmutation in combat was for direct offense or defense against melee attacks. None of that would work this time. He would have to get creative.

Merdilen started to sprint towards the bounty hunter, closing the distance between them, and the bounty hunter shot two quick arrows at him. Merdilen quickstepped to the side behind a tree and prepared to spring to the other side. The moment he did, two other arrows flew past him. The bounty hunter was good. But he didn’t know Merdilen. When he sprang from behind the tree, he Transmutated part of its bark with his feet into a small step, boosting himself with it and jumping above the two arrows.

Merdilen jumped all the distance to the next tree, and when he got to it, he Transmutated it into another step with his feet. He kept jumping upwards, until he got to the treetops. He Transmutated the leaves into a solid surface, standing upon them. It would be way harder for the archer to shoot at him effectively here. He kept running through the treetops in the bounty hunter’s direction, and most arrows he shot buried into the trees instead of hitting him. The bounty hunter then shot at a tree behind him, but Merdilen just thought he misfired and kept running towards him.

When Merdilen got right on top of him, he jumped down, but not before turning several leaves into sharp daggers that he hurled at the bounty hunter. The bounty hunter tried to shoot another arrow at the falling Merdilen, but was forced to jump to the side instead to avoid the daggers. Merdilen raised his sword high over his head as he fell, ready to strike.

Now I’ve got him! he thought. But, instead of falling on top of him, he hit an invisible string in the air. He then noticed. The bounty hunter hadn’t misfired, he had shot two arrows connected by a string to opposite trees, laying a trap for Merdilen right in front of his eyes. The string made him spin in the air and lose his balance, and he fell to the ground on his back several feet from the bounty hunter. The bounty hunter aimed at him with his bow, but before he could shoot, Merdilen Transmutated the ground around him. Dirt was an excellent conductor. He turned all the ground dozens of feet around him into quicksand except for the spot he was laying on, and it was the bounty hunter’s turn now to lose his balance, shooting his arrow far from his target.

Merdilen started running towards the bounty hunter, turning the quicksand at his feet into solid ground as he ran. The bounty hunter once again shot at him, but missed and the arrow buried itself deep into a tree behind him. He jumped to Merdilen’s left, and then shot another arrow to Merdilen’s right. He realized his mistake too late, and he saw the string fly past him. The string connecting the two arrows hit him as the arrow flew by, and as the bounty hunter had shot the second arrow after making a turn around Merdilen, the string wrapped around Merdilen’s body, making him fall to the ground. The bounty hunter then took a dagger from his belt and thrust it at Merdilen’s neck, but he hadn’t accounted for the Transmutator’s reflexes.

Merdilen turned the dagger into sand as soon as it touched his neck, and then turned his right Transmutation glove into a steel blade, hurling it at the bounty hunter’s neck. He looked at Merdilen, shocked and surprised, but the Transmutator didn’t strike. He turned the string wrapped around him into sand, and then muttered to the bounty hunter.

“I hope you remember this if you ever try to cross paths with me again.” He knocked the bounty hunter unconscious with his black sword’s pommel, and then broke his longbow in half with his sword, also turning the bounty hunter’s dagger into sand. He then got up and left the place quickly, constantly turning around to make sure he wasn’t being followed again.