Back in Far Reach I headed over to the Fensalfar immediately, casting an eye over at the exhausted Dokalfar who now sat apart from everyone, casting mistrustful but at least non-threatening looks.

“That was a damn impressive display from your archers, Zeine. I had no idea you could imbue the arrows in that way.”

“Thank you, Lord Clive. The Fensalfar may still have many surprises in store for you. It felt empowering to be part of such a battle and to be victorious. It fills me with hope for the future.

“Me too. The Dokalfar were pretty hot shit, too. Considering how knackered they all were. They don’t have a great reputation, at least in the books I’ve read from my world, but they fought incredibly well for us today.”

“Agreed. They were a joy to behold. The Dokalfar’s reputation is one of mystery to most. But the Fensalfar have always had good relationships with them.”

“Fantastic. Well, I need to make them as comfortable and at ease as possible. I thought you might be able to help with that, seen as I’m no elf, and other than what you’ve told me, I know very little about any of you guys.”

“Of course. I’m happy to help. Please lead the way, and let's make our new friends feel at home.”

“Thanks man,” I replied as we approached the Dokalfar. I noticed they were sitting around their injured, protectively. I waved to Hek, who stood smoothly to greet us.

“Lord Clive. Zeine, it has been a long time.”

“Indeed, Hek, almost a hundred years since our paths last crossed. It warms my heart to see you still strong and hale.”

“Those feelings are mutual. It’s been a testing few years for all of our people.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry you had to walk into Far Reach to another bloody battle,” I said. “I doubt they’ll be back in a hurry after that arse kicking. So we’ll try to get you situated and you're injured into the healing house. It probably won’t fit everyone in, but we’ll get the worst in there straight away.”

“I would be extremely grateful if we could place my Queen in their immediately. I will stay with her until she either recovers or transpires.”

His face and voice were expressionless, but I could see the pain in his eyes. “Yeah man, of course. Let’s do that straight away. Do you have anyone useful with healing?”

“We do have skilled healers. Alial is our strongest and remains with the Queen,” he said indicating a female Dokalfar with sad eyes who sat by the litter of the bundled up Queen.

Alial: Level 43 Queen’s Aide. Dokalfera (Dokalfar II)

“Though even she is unable to deal with our Queen's ailment.”

“What the hell’s wrong with her?” I asked. Knowing what some could do with healing, it was a surprise there was nothing any one could do.”

“She drew to deeply on her powers to save us in our flight from Helvien. For all intents and purposes, she appears to be an empty husk. I do not even know if her soul still resides inside her body.”

“Oh, man. That’s shitty. Like a coma,” I said rubbing at my chin, trying to remember what I knew about Coma’s and treating them. Which turned out to be absolutely nothing.

“We will send our healers, too,” Zeine said. “Hopefully between them we can heal the Queen.”

Hek nodded gratefully to Zeine, but he didn’t look convinced.

“For now, we have one spare building and space in the castle to house your people. To be honest, I’m going to let Joel sort all that stuff out with you, because he knows what’s what. I’ll leave you now to get settled, but I’ll pop along later to check on you and the queen.”

“I look forward to it Lord Clive. And thank you for your kindness,” Hek said bowing low.

“You should probably visit the healing house yourself,” Zeine said wryly gesturing to my hand. I looked down at it and found that my little finger was bent at an odd angle.

“Ha, I knew something wasn’t right. I’ve just been so busy.”

As I walked away, heading for the castle, I straightened my little finger out and flushed it with energy before I flew up to the top floor. And, I received the Neuma Fatigue notification. “What were the chances of that?” I muttered to myself. Now I had to use the stairs.

Walking into our room I slumped on the bed next to where Sania sat.

“Why are you smirking?” she asked.

“I just got the Neuma Fatigue on the way here and had to use the stairs.”

“It’s amazing you were able to fight for so long using it. I envy your Internal Connection level.”

“I should be able to get more after all the points I must have earned today. I haven’t even had time to go through the notifications.”

“You should. The Malatians will be back soon enough when their reinforcements arrive. Plus all of the ones you let go to fight us another day.”

“I had to, for my own peace of mind,” I mumbled more to myself as I brought up my previously dismissed notifications. Then I was instantly swept away by the numbers. There were so many to even compute. I suddenly felt like a mass murder.

15 Ferthur

83 Hycantha

4 Paladins of Devotion

15 Malatian Warriors

2 Clerics of Devotion — ­ which made me feel dirty as Mal was a Cleric of Devotion. Though I hadn’t seen him in the battle.

Then came another list of those who I was part of a team in killing:

2 Pit Demons

21 Ferthur

67 Hycantha

11 Malatian warriors

Warning: you have risen Three levels. Progress to Level 42 unavailable until evolutionary path choices have been made.

Progress to Ascension Tier 2: Elman Level 40

The Elman tier of humanity allows for:

Higher Maximum level across all stats.

Increase in Spiritual Utility - 60%

+3 to all Physical and Mental Stats.

Elman Tier path choices:

Path of Attack. Choose weapon that best suits your fighting style and bond it with your inner power. While in this state, Weapon will be indestructible. Weapon can only be defended against with opposing inner power.

Weapon of ascension active time +10 seconds per level above Elman rank.

6 hour cool down.

Path of Defense.

Gives 1 seconds of Indestructibility per level, above Elman base rank. 24hour cooldown

Path of Care: Cast a field of energy around you, which increases the stamina of all who are within the area of effect by 50%.

Duration: Ten minutes. Increase area of effect by one foot, every level above Elman Rank. Every ten levels, provides a ten-minute Duration increase.

It was a lot to take in. I looked over to Sania who was dressed in a fresh hoodie now. “So, I was right. I’ve gone up three whole levels. It just hasn’t given me the Level Up notifications because I have to choose a path of ascension.”

“That’s amazing Clive. I’m halfway through Level 44 after those battles. I’ll be evolving into a Woltar soon too, she grinned.”

“I’m more excited for you than I am for me. What if this level awakens the seed?”

“I thought it wouldn’t happen till the Third Tier after this?”

“That’s what Darkness said. But what if he’s wrong?”

“What if he’s intentionally wrong, you mean?” Sania replied knowingly.

“There’s been a few niggles lately hasn’t there?”

She nodded. “A little caution never hurt anyone. Imagine if you did level and Natom arrived in the middle of this war.”

“So should I do it?”

“I’m unsure what to tell you. What are the different paths?”

I read them all out to her and she sat thoughtful for a few minutes before speaking again.

“Is it worth holding off leveling for a little while? If Natom does come while we’re battling the Malatians, we’ll be in serious trouble and the increases in power you’ll gain aren’t going to make much difference against him right now. Perhaps we should see what Grimstrom has to say for himself when he returns?”

“It sucks, but a few days won't hurt,” I agreed. “If I decide what I’m going to take now, then should I have to level, for survival purposes, then I can.”

“Good idea. Indestructible sounds amazing and might be good in thirty levels, but I can’t see many occasions where a few seconds of indestructibility will be of use except to deflect one killing blow. But you’d probably die a few seconds later. You can also achieve indestructibility though Constitution like Natom has.

“I think there’s more to it than that, but yeah. I get you.”

She snorted. “There’s always something more to everything with these people we’re dealing with. But, back to the Elman paths. Tireless sounds like an early form of what Natom used when we first met him. It’s very good, and we can see how it might help, but then again it’s very limited.”

“Well, at least I have time to think about it. I could still choose weapon of ascension.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Don’t do that! the Cleaver looked to me to be an Ascension weapon already!”

I snorted with laughter. “I wouldn’t choose the cleaver! But that’s my right-handed weapon. Might as well have a left-handed weapon with Dark power! If I do it, I’d choose my demon arm like the Woltar Claws of Rending Salvation.”

She gave me a long look, trying to work through the logic of it. “That could be a very good idea. Two very powerful weapons and you can still fire your Spicy Balls.”

“Exactly,” I grinned, thinking of the possibilities.

Her face set in a mask of conviction. “That is the answer. Do that Clive.”

“I think I will,” I mused. “As for the 30 points, I’m going to hit Constitution, Internal Connection and Intelligence.”

“Worthy increases, though I would probably split them between just Constitution and Internal Connection.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me, but I need that Intelligence. One day I’ll convince you to invest, and I bet you become addicted too,” I laughed.

“I won’t,” she said seriously, stretching out on the bed beside me.

“Has Grigor shared what options you’ll have at Level 45?”

“The Woltar Evolution gives +5 to all Physical stats. The perks are Endless Stamina, which when active means my own Stamina remains untouched for an hour and I could sprint at full speed or fight constantly without experiencing physical fatigue. Then there’s a strength multiplier for ten seconds. And, of course, the weapon of ascension. I already know I will take the Claws of Rending Salvation. As for points, I’ll continue to boost Constitution and Internal Connection.”

“I can’t disagree with that,” I said closing my eyes, for a moment. Sania draped an arm over my chest, and we soon drifted off to sleep.

I awoke with Sania gently rocking me. “It’s morning, and I’m ravenous, Clive.”

I groaned, slowly opening eyes that fought me every step of the way. I realized judging from the rest of me, the dried blood wouldn’t be helping.

“Sania, you're always ravenous,” I finally replied as I came to a sitting position.

“Get clean and come on. There’s going to be a lot to do today,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument.

I went over to the impressively designed sink the dwarves had installed and scrubbed my face with the fresh, clean spring water that flowed from it. Washing my hands then swilling my mouth out, before taking a drink.

Feeing invigorated, I changed my clothes and stretched out ready for whatever the day had to offer.

“Food does sound good,” I said as my stomach grumbled with the icy water recently added. “Then I’ll check on everyone and help with the repairs.”

“Yup. We need to be ready if the Dwarves decide to desert us.”

“They fought well yesterday. I was a little surprised.”

“Me too. Perhaps we were too harsh?”

I shrugged. “Either way, we can’t rely on them at the minute. Not if they scarper when the main army arrives. We have to be prepared for that. I’ll speak to them later. But first, check on our own people.”

Once we’d eaten, I made my way to the long healing hut that sat at the base of the castle. Joel and eight dwarven master builders had each laid an imbued stone to form the building and it provided x12 speed to healing. So I shouldn’t have been surprised to find it was almost empty.

Sanyl and one of the elders from Grigor’s original pack normally tended the house since its construction, but this time we found a Fensalfar man named Villis and Dokalfar woman, Alial, tending the few injured people remaining there. They were all Dokalfar, and they were not in a good state. The injuries were all missing limbs, and I could only sympathize from my own albeit brief experience.

At the back of the house, Hek sat motionless staring into space at the side of his still unconscious Queen. It was the first time I’d had a clear look at her. She had an ageless look. Smooth, perfect skin and a stern look, even in a coma. I also realized that she didn’t have an identifier. I wondered if that was through her skill or through near death. The only other person I’d seen without an identifier was Natom. I quickly pushed him from my mind to focus on the Queen.

I wondered what she would be like in person. She looked a little intimidating even in this state.

Hek stood up as I approached and offered a slight bow..

“No signs of improvement?”

He shook his head. “I had hoped that your house here would have some kind of an effect, but to my despair she remains as hollow as ever. I confess I no longer know what to do and that terrifies me more than I care to admit.”

I felt terrible for them. The Queen was obviously a very big deal to all of the Dokalfar. “I wish there was something I could do. Have all those who have healing skills had a look?”

“They have. They all say the same. Her core is all but dead, how her body stays with us I don’t understand.”

“Her core?” I asked, intrigued. “I didn’t know they could even be damaged. But there’s a hell of a lot I don’t know. My old mentor Hakan always used to say that he’d forgotten more than I knew, which now I know what I know. He was probably being serious. Anyway,” I said shaking my head, the act helping me clear thoughts of Hakan. How the hell is her core dead, or dying?”

“We were beset by many perils on the escape from Helvien and the Queen went far beyond what should have been possible to save us all. She gave her life for her people.”

He spoke with such sadness, yet his face remained perfectly neutral. The poor bugger looked like he needed a good cry. But such was the tilt of our lives. We had to carry the fuck on, while our worlds collapsed around us. The tears could wait for our graves.

Alial, the Dokalfar healer, came over. “Her core is no longer capable of absorbing the energy. It appears to hold a spark. Just enough energy to keep her body alive, but no more. If I could, I would attempt to push energy into her core… I… we can’t do that.”

“Ah, like jump start her. Why can’t you do it?”

“Jump start?” Alial asked confused.

“Sorry, term from my world. Flood her core with energy.”

“Our powers don’t work like that. I can use the energy I receive from the world to repair physical damaged areas but not meridians or the core. They are not of the physical world.

“What do you mean?” I asked. I’d genuinely not even considered that before.

“If I were to cut open your abdomen, you would not see your core, Correct?”

“Bit of a vivid image, but yeah, I get it. I think. You know. My power works a bit differently. I could give it a blast if you want?”

Hek’s eyes widened slightly. “You think you could do something for her?”

“Whoa! Settle down, dude. Probably not. It’s a tricky business working with cores. And by tricky, I mean I have absolutely no idea whatsoever as to what I’m doing. I can have a look. That’s all.”

“Please do. If there’s a chance…”

I gave him a thumbs up and dropped into a meditative state sending out a tendril of energy into the comatose Queen. I entered near her core and through my mind's eye could see it was just as the healer had described. The core was lifeless. A mere flicker of gold in the centre of a greyish coloured orb.

I studied it for a while. Not sure what to do or where to start. Now I was here. I didn’t actually want to push the tendril into the core, with the sudden realization that the queen could potentially bond me.

After a little thought, I kind of knew the power to bond was only possible if you could use your own Neuma, which, as far as I knew, the Dokalfar didn’t.

I also couldn’t sense any sign of the Queen's personality either. If she was still alive, judging from her core, she would be weak as water.

In typical hit it and hope fashion, I plunged the tendril in.

Nothing happened. It was completely dead where there was no color. I tried pulsing some energy into the grey area to kick start it.

Nothing.

With a growl of frustration, I moved towards the remaining spark. I really didn’t want to do this. My intelligence told me this was a bad fucking idea. Turns out you can level the idiot out of Clive, but you can’t level the Clive out of idiot. At least it was a well thought out conscious decision to court catastrophe, as a pose to catastrophe through ignorance. As I touched my tendril to her core, I realized that didn’t make it better. Then the screaming began, echoing around my mind.

“Hey, hey!” I said in the most calming voice I could muster. “Queen whatever your name is? We’re good here. I’m trying to help.”

The screaming lessened and I tried a few more times to speak. Finally, the screaming subsided. “I will not sell my soul now at the end, you fiend! You will not take what remains of me.”

“What the hell are you talking about. I just promised Hek I’d see if I could do something for you.”

“You… Hek? You’re not a God?”

“Ha, not really. That’s its own story. But no, I’m not a God.”

“Then how do you speak with me here in this prison of my own making?”

“I got the Neuma skills. I can do a few things most can't.”

Her voice went quiet for a moment, then she spoke slowly. Carefully. “Natom?”

“Fuck no, I’m not that shit-eating prick. My name’s Clive and I lead a town just south of Kalabri. We took your people in yesterday.”

Her voice suddenly went softer. “That brightens my misery a little to know some still remain and they are safe. Or as safe as can be in that cruel world. Why did you help them?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t I. They were being attacked by Demons. We’re all being screwed by the gods and their followers. The way I see it is those who aren’t aligned need to stick together.”

“An interesting way to look at it. Is there anything you can do for me, Clive?”

“I tried to pump your core in the dead section, but it didn’t work. I can try to push some power into this last spark of life but, I mean… I’m not gonna blag you here Queen. I haven’t got a fucking clue what I’m doing.”

“I will be eternally in your debt if you make the attempt, and it works. Should I die. Know that I am grateful for the attempt, and I would die with a modicum of peace knowing that my people have found somewhere to shelter the storm. If you do nothing, I die anyway.”

“Fair enough. Okay, here goes.” I began pushing a little power into that spark and for a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly it was gripped, held tight. I panicked and tried to pull away, but the spark held onto it.

“I’m sorry Clive. This is the only way. I will be a merciful Queen to you.”

“You’re bonding me?” I said in horror. “How?”

“I wasn’t sure if I could. Few can use Neuma, and I have spent a lifetime studying it. I have some small skill with direct manipulation. With you here in the centre of my core, it appears that I can, and I must. For my people.”

“You fucking bitch,” I said, mentally flapping. The thought of what could happen to Sania and Grigor if this happened. “You need to stop. I have others bonded to me.”

“I cannot. I must live. I’m sorry, Clive. I will be merciful.”

“Me, too,” I growled. “I’m not the same weak, useless turd that got shat here a few months ago, queen. I yanked at the tendril with all my strength fuelled with boiling rage. The Queen's little spark couldn’t resist the pull and as I pulled her remaining power from her core, she had no choice but to give up and let go or die.

“Not cool, Queenie. Not cool at all.”

“I accept that. Desperation does strange things to us. And with that last attempt at life, I have hastened my death. Don’t judge my people for my ungratefulness, Clive.”

“I won’t,” I said calming. “Truthfully, I don’t really blame you for trying. Though it was a super shady move against someone who was trying to help you.”

“You are right. And I have over spent on what little energy I had left, trying to bond you. What is left, is fading away.”

“Ah, fucking great. Hek’s gonna love that isn’t he! I leave, cut the connection and a few minutes later you kick the bucket. Fanfuckingtastic. I’ve got enough shit on my plate with Devotion and Darkness without adding a bunch of angry Dokalfar.”

“What trouble?” She asked earnestly. Her voice was weaker now. It almost felt like she wanted to just talk to someone as she slipped away.

“I kinda made a deal with Darkness, nothing much. Just to get stronger and build Far Reach as much as I could, so neutral refugees from Kalabri had a place to come.”

“Darkness asked this of you?”

“We were already kinda doing it, anyway. He just offered help for us to do it. But now Malatia have decided to come and claim our little town as their own. Darkness’s followers are starting to get a little antsy with us, too. They don’t want to be involved in a war with Devotion when they already have Justice and Destruction to deal with.”

“Why would Darkness or Devotion be interested in your settlement. Why do you hate, Natom Hilgresh with such passion. Who exactly are you, Clive?”

“Just, Clive. Though I do have a hibernating seed of Creation's powers in me. And he did come to my world and train me to cook. Trust me, though, he told me sod all about any of this world or who he was.”

There was a silence for a short while, then in almost a whisper, she spoke again. “Will you punish my people for my attempt to bond your soul?”

“What? No chance. I told you I wouldn’t. They seem like a good bunch. And like I say, I don’t really blame you for the effort. I’m just relieved I could fight you off,” I laughed. Which, in hindsight seemed like a shitty thing to do to the dying queen.

“If you bonded me, would that save me?”

“Say what, now? Bond you?”

“Yes.”

“I mean, yeah. Probably, from what I know. But trust me, you wouldn’t like what it means.

“The bond will mature as you do. While for now…” she trailed off. It was as if she wanted to say more but ran out of steam half way through. The spark was growing dimmer, too.

“Fuck,” I thought as I reached out with the tendril again to her core. She spoke no more, but latched on to my energy. This time, she made no attempt to pull me in. Reluctantly, I slowly teased my tendril with hers holding on back my core. Hers was so very thin, and I panicked as it flickered as we moved together. I could feel the grasp of her energy start to falter and I held on for the first time. She clearly wanted to do this. Up until this point, I had exerted no force on bringing her toward my own core. She latched on willingly.

Together we kept the connection, and I pulled her energy into my core where she safely locked in.

I had mixed feelings when the notifications sprung up:

Congratulations. You have successfully completed the Soul-Bind Skill.

By drawing a portion of another’s Neuma into your own, you have formed an unbreakable bond between you and your chosen servant. They are now at your behest.

Warning: Be cautious of the distance between you and your soul bound servant. While this will vary on individual power levels of both parties, your soul bound servant will die should you move beyond a safe distance.

Warning: The death of your Soul Bonded Servant is imminent. Do you wish to:

Extinguish Bond Restore Bonded

I still had serious doubts this was a good idea, but I mentally mashed option B. I felt an instant pull at my core as energy suddenly rushed back along the bond toward the Queen's spark before blossoming across her entire core. I worried about the detrimental effect this was having on my own core, but it seemed to absorb power from the air and the ground and the stones of the walls, as quickly as it left by body.

“Thank you Lord Clive. You have given me life and returned my power to me. You do not know what this means.”

“You’ve paid a pretty high price for it, though.”

“A price I pay willingly from the depths of my soul. Your arrival has given me more hope than I have had for a long time.”