Chapter 22

Chores

After praying for help, Lykan realized one thing almost instantly, the set of tasks before him dropped from silver to bronze. In a way, Lykan realized that half of the challenge of this task was taking the time to both carve out the wood into the specified shapes but clean up the waste. Now Lykan had effectively bypassed all of those steps for the sake of ease and convenience. Looking at the wall that now seemed to glow in a bronze color to his eyes, he focused and wondered.

The process had already worked once, so could it happen again.

Whoop.

The sound of spinning blades cutting through the air could be heard. Lykan and the others all turned their gaze to the South-West, toward the capitol. That is where they saw an even larger blimp than the one that had just left rocketing forward.

This one too glowed to Lykan’s sight, though, unlike the last one that seemed to shimmer between bronze, silver, and gold. This particular ship only had silver and gold flashes. Lykan wondered if the easier of the events had now passed, meaning he would only be left with the harder events to face. Shrugging to himself, Lykan was about to help Davison tear down the damaged wall when an idea hit him. If what he understood about the world and its old laws were true, then he likely could ask for immediate help with this task before him.

“Wait,” Lykan said before Davison and Javison went about destroying their old wall so they could rebuild it correctly.

Everyone looked at Lykan, but Lykan only dropped to one knee on the ground. Placing his hand in front of his knee to create a second point of Contact, Lykan began to channel energy.

In his mind, he spoke to the world, realizing that he was outside the domain of the Great Forest Spirit and therefore outside the Ability of the Great Forest Spirit to render aid. This time he called upon the laws and will of the old world. Just as he had before with chopping the wood. He asked for help with replacing the old broken wall with a new one. That any additional materials be offered as a sacrifice to the old world.

“Please help these people in their time of need,” Lykan said. Then just like before, a golden glow first surrounded Lykan then flew forward to the wall. In a second, the broken wall that had been there, a permanent stain on the sanctity of this old farmhouse, was now removed.

A collective gasp of surprise was let out as everyone else just saw the wall randomly disappear.

Then the same golden glow began to glow around the particles of wood that had been cut perfectly to fit in the now empty wall space. Then those too disappeared.

“What?”

More cries of amazement rang out as everyone saw the boards disappear as well. Only for them to reappear the next moment perfectly placed and snug in the wall. The metal nails that had been used to seal the joints of the previous wall were all reused to pin this wall in place. In a word, it was seamless. Each board effortlessly merged with and combined to the next piece. So perfect was the wall that it made the other walls of the old house look worn down in comparison. This was not a lie. In comparison, the other walls were much older and had more signs of aging on them.

Everyone stood in awe of the accomplishments of the old world laws. There were stories about how the first Kingdom was built upon using such laws, but those techniques were long since believed to be lost to time.

Everyone was curious as to how the man, their savior, had managed to use such old laws so easily. A few of the women present took him as a direct savior from the Gods. He was almost too good to be true. During their time of greatest need, he appeared out of nowhere and slaughtered the bandits that had taken them hostage. Brought them to freedom, slew a dragon and let them partake in the killing, letting everyone forever change their fates. Then he performed not one but two acts of old-world magic today. This, of course, was not including the old world compact magic he had shown earlier of a shepherd and his flock.

Hanna and Liana gave each other awkward glances as they realized they were two of the most outspoken about killing Lykan while he rested that first night. Now all they could do was look on in embarrassment at each other for how wrong they had been in their opinions of the boy turned savior.

Everyone was amazed at the sight of old-world magic at use. Only one other person present saw everything and understood what had happened.

Dathney watched, her right hand resting flat against her neck as she stood back and watched. He traded in his future fate for immediate rewards, for another.

She watched the man shakily stand to his feet, though he quickly regained his composure before anyone else could see the strain that invoking the world magic had on his body. Dathney saw the signs all too clearly. Fatigue.

What Dathney saw could only be lauded as a truly selfless act. The man had spent most of the morning building up the karma needed to enact the world powers. He found a path, put in work and effort, then gave away the efforts one after another to complete strangers. He is a fool. She thought, but looking at the man, it was clear he was wise beyond his years. He might be young, but he clearly had access to ancient knowledge that had long since been lost to time.

Dathney then turned to see that the large capital class warship had come to the edge of the property line and began to let down a descending line.

“We will apparently have guests,” Dathney said loud enough for Polina to hear. A quick nod from Polina let her know she was aware and ready for what was to come next. Enora was one of the first to notice the group of officials who all seemed to pile out group by group from the ship. Seeing the group of Sidhertha delegates and the mounting tensions of everyone who was gathered, Lykan washed quickly with the remains of a waterskin, then put on his shirt and sheathed his sword behind his back. Telka, too, was there, but she seemed to be content with hanging back and watching from a distance.

Davison seeing the growing group of people, went out to greet the officials. He was soon followed by Dathney and Lykan, who both went to see what was to happen. Behind them, Telka and Polina fell in line. The two made the briefest of glances, during which Polina let out a snarl crest her lips. Telka, for her part, didn’t cower but gave a disapproving huff. While she might not be aware of what was being said for the most part. She had fully gotten a complete run-through of meta-linguistics, the understanding of intent through body language and posture. She knew that Polina was somehow beholden to Dathney, that they held a Master-worker relationship. She could tell that Dathney was beyond intrigued by Lykan. If the constant glances she gave the youth when she thought no one was watching was any indication, she could almost swear that the woman was smitten with him.

While such, Telka too couldn’t help but feel a certain type of way toward the mysterious youth who jumped into their lives in the most remarkable fashion. She felt that her bond or at least future, with the young Master, was more promising than that of the woman with the eerie glowing eyes of power. Just looking at Dathney caused a shiver to run down Telka’s back as she could almost imagine those powerful eyes staring deeply into her and seeing her innermost secrets. Before she could delve too far into those thoughts, Davison began to speak.

“Hello, how can I help you?”

“Yes, we heard of a possible bandit attack in the area. Now we have received reports of people who are likely trespassers in the area. We have come to substantiate the claims of possible vagrancy,” the Delegate began.

Hearing the words, Davison’s blood began to boil as he balled up his fists in anger. “You knew of the Azani bandits who tore through these lands, yet you did nothing. Only for us to find salvation and make it back here, at which time you accuse us of vagrancy? This is our land. Bequeathed to us by the local magistrate,” Davison began, the more he spoke, the more the guards who had gathered tensed up and readied their rifles.

Before he could get too far into his tirade, where he let loose all of his pent-up frustration from the humiliation of being held captive for the past few days to his subsequent relief from being freed. All to come back and find that he was now being accused of pilfering his own lands. A gentle hand placed on his shoulder calmed him before he could go too much further.

Davison let out a breath of air as a young man gently glided forward, interposing himself between Davison and the Sidhertha delegation.

“To be clear,” Lykan began, “you claim this man is not the rightful owner of this land. While he claims to be the rightful owner of these lands. Is this, in fact, the case of both claims?”

While Lykan spoke to both parties, his eyes never lost sight of the Sidhertha delegation before him.

As their eyes locked, Fabian Du Pris, the highest-ranking delegate sent for this mission, couldn’t help but feel a cold tension in his shoulders as he locked eyes with Lykan.

“Thh…that is correct,” Fabian managed.

“Well then. It seems a simple matter to solve,” Lykan said.

“Simple?” Fabian questioned.

“Yes. Would a simple declaration of the land be enough?” Lykan asked.

Fabian and the other delegates who were gathered were so put off by the simple question that, at first, they didn’t know how to answer. Such stories were children’s tales. Many farmers would tell their children of such tales, where land disputes were often settled without bloodshed or legal actions in times past by simply invoking the old world laws of dominion.

The old world law of dominion was simple. Should a man toil in the soil to make a land prosperous and better than it was originally found, the land would choose to bond with the farmer in question and their entire lineage. This not only helped with legal matters but with crop yields, as the longer such a bond was in place, the higher percentage yield the farmer and his family could expect.

The delegates who were gathered all laughed at the claim.

Lykan, for his part, just stared calmly at Fabian. Fabian, too, laughed until he felt a prickle of fear run down his spine as he saw the seriousness of the man’s gaze before him. He quickly regained his composure before speaking.

“Yes. It is correct. If one could perform the old world compact of Dominion, and this man was clearly chosen by the land. Then this matter would be settled easily, however…”

“Perfect!” Lykan shouted with the clap of his hands, cutting off the delegate member before he could continue on.

“Davison. I offer you this one out. Do you wish to give up all rights to this land beneath your feet? Knowing that you would be free from the burden of binding both yourself and your family to this land for as long as you shall live?” Lykan asked, a serious tone to his words.

As he spoke, there was a definite weight and power to each word spoken.

Chills ran down Davison’s spine. Enora, too, felt the chill as she felt compelled to leave her newly fixed house to stare down at the hill toward her husband and Lykan.

Davison paused for a second, his words caught in his throat as he felt the full weight and force of what was being asked of him. Clasping his mouth shut and gulping down a hard gulp down his suddenly dry mouth, he first nodded. Then finally was able to respond as if his mind and soul took a second to get fully on the page. Once they were on the same page, he spoke.

“Yes. I love these lands, and I want to see them passed on to my children and my children’s children.”

Hearing this, a static charge began to build in the area.

Fabian and his entourage felt the hairs on the back of their necks begin to rise as power, unlike anything they had ever seen or experienced before, began to manifest.

“I hear your words and judge them to be true. Also, having witnessed you these past few days. I judge you to be an honorable man worthy of this pact. Know that by my invoking this pact of the old world, I am placing a part of my fate in your hands. This is not something to be taken lightly, but I have seen you be a good man with a good family. I will grant this request to the old world laws on your behalf.”

The more Lykan spoke, the more the power in the area began to ebb and flow. Clouds grew overhead as the bright mid-day sun was suddenly blanketed by dark, ominous clouds.

“This is the second oldest of the old world laws I call upon. The Law of Dominion. Where both man and earth pledge themselves in unison. The man pledges his blood, sweat, and tears to help these lands grow and improve. The land offers prosperity, higher yields in crops to share its resources during famine and drought. With this pact, Davison, know that your corps will yield more. Your fields will be able to overcome disasters faster. Know that the land already considers the bandits who attacked you as a disaster and is now working to erase the damage they caused. While the damages wouldn’t normally be able to be fixed in one season. With this pact, such damages will be fixed, so long as you, too, work in peace and harmony for the benefit of each other. By the land entrusting this part of itself to you, you and by extension, your family will become one with it, a child of nature.”

Lykan paused, watching Davison for any signs of doubt or hesitation. This was a burden as much as it was a blessing. For anyone not willing to fully commit themselves to the land, this would be a death sentence. But for Davison, who wished to die here upon these lands, this was a blessing he had always dreamed of.

Davison only nodded, words unable to be said as currents of air ripped through the area. Even the large blimp had to break off and rise higher so that it might avoid being ripped apart by the winds.

“So it shall be. The land has already claimed you. I saw this the moment it relaxed once you and your family returned. So I shall make this bonding both official and permanent by the power of the old world and the new Gods. I bind you, Davison Summers. You and your family will only know peace when you are here on these lands. These lands will now and forever be your refuge and your salvation. So it has been spoken. So it shall be. I grant you Dominion!”

With that, a crackle of lightning resounded from the sky, striking down toward the old farmhouse. But to everyone’s surprise, nothing happened. Well, no damage happened to the house. There was a mark that was scorched into the side of the house, but that was but an old-world rune carved into the side of the old home. The word of the old rune was lost to most. Only Lykan, with his universal literacy, saw the marking for what it truly was, sanctuary. The old world had not only recognized Davison as the rightful maintainer of these lands, but the old world itself offered sanctuary to the home that would be the heart of the Davison empire.

After the bolt of lightning, the clouds quickly dissipated as quickly as they had appeared. Then the winds, too, died down until they were little more than a gentle breeze.

Everyone stared on with shock and amazement.

“So, now that it is clear that he is the rightful maintainer of these lands, there will be no further questions?” Lykan asked, turning his full weight and attention back to Fabian and his cronies, that were standing in awe of the magic that they had just witnessed.

Fabian was one of the few magically gifted members of the aerial unit, which explained his rise to power so quickly. He was one of the few present who was able to see everything. The power that the young man called forth, the fact that the world both below and above recognized the claim of this man. While everyone else gathered could feel the rising and flow of power, the others were blessed that they weren’t able to see the grandeur of old-world magic being invoked by the young man.

Shocked.

Unbeknown to Fabian Du Pris, was a second ship was just now landing at the capital with very important news about a man who could invoke world laws and a group of people who managed to slay a Psychic Dragon but then left the body to be claimed by the imperial forces.

Fabian Du Pris’ group was a special group known as tax enforcers. Their job was to track when houses were reported as abandoned through different raids and then claim an extortion tax once someone new moved in. This was a simple process that was the best form of justice one could enact easily on these border territories. Taxes taken in the form of money would go toward the Kingdom, while taxes in the form of goods would go toward Fabian and his crew.

The purpose of the bigger blimp was simple, intimidation. One could never know how many soldiers were lying in wait above. Truth be told, what they had was little more than a skeleton crew. Even now, there were only three additional bodies in the blimp at all. That wouldn’t even be enough to turn around and ask for help should Fabian and his entire crew get wiped out down here. This was a calculated risk Fabian was willing to make. By having an overwhelming show of force, to begin with, most would not want to attack, especially with the general rule of the Sidherthan military being that no more than ten percent of a war party should leave the airship at any one time.

The way Fabian and his crew got around this was they were not in a war party but rather acting as official tax collectors. Still, it was a delicate line they were walking. But Fabian was quite certain with his Magical Abilities that he could provide enough cover fire for everyone to begin the evacuation process, should things get too desperate. Still, something seemed off about this whole string of events.

Fabian looked to his crew to see the signs of confusion written clearly on their faces as well. They had never seen such an event. Even in the cases where people had come back to reclaim their lands, there was still a reprocessing fee that was leveraged. Yet, nothing Fabian nor his team could come up with could explain a way to get money from these people.

“So, I guess we are done here?” The man who had seemingly mocked Fabian and his crew from the start of this whole operation. The man, who now smugly seemed to control the entire conversation.

“No, we demand payment!” Fabian shouted, indignation filling him as he summoned all the confusion he was now feeling to bubble over into anger.

“Payment for what?” the farmer who had just been claimed by everyone asked.

Fabian stammered for a second. He looked to the rest of his crew, then looked back at the people who were gathered at the edge of their property line. Then he saw what he wanted as his eyes were instantly drawn to the uniquely glowing sword on the kid’s back. Seeing the sword, something inside, Fabian began to turn with greed. Aided by his need to retain face in front of his men and a new desire to take that glowing magical sword, Fabian made his move.

“Payment for search and rescue fees. When you went missing, we began sending out search parties for you and your family. Also, there was a seal placed on the house that had alerted us to your presence,” Fabian said.

The part about the seal was true. That was how Fabian and his crew knew to come out here first thing in the morning to collect their taxes. The seal was broken late last night, so when the alert was noted in the morning, Fabian and his crew went out to begin collecting the taxes owed by the new tenants.

“Search and rescue fees? We were taken by Azani slavers, and we never saw hide nor hair of your sorry faces.”

Hearing this, the farmer went livid. Seeing things quickly going downhill, Fabian made his play.

“The sword. Give us the sword, and we will call it even,” Fabian said, pointing to the magic sword on the young boy’s back.

“What are you insane!” the farmer began again, but a quick hand by the boy stopped the man in the middle of his tirade.

“My sword? That is all? My sword and you and your men will leave Davison Summers and his family alone?” the boy asked in a calm tone.

Hearing the boy speak, Fabian felt the knot in his stomach loosen. Finally, I can recover some face in front of my troops. Also, that sword will fetch a pretty penny at the market, Fabian thought as he looked at the glowing hilt of the sword that hung on the boy’s back with greed.

“Yes. Yes, we will consider all of these debts paid in full so long as you hand over the sword,” Fabian said, trying to sound reasonable.

The boy let a slight smile crest his lips. Seeing the sudden change in the boy’s demeanor, a vicious killing intent washed over Fabian and his troops from the boy, only to be quickly repressed. The sensation was over so quickly that many almost wondered if they had imagined it.

“Well then. That sounds like a reasonable request. I should warn you, this blade is magical in nature…” the boy said, pulling the sword from behind his back. Now that it was out of its sheath, Fabian could see the exquisite design and attention to detail that the blades creator must have had. The entire thing glowed with power. While it looked to be made of porcelain, the blade it held was both fierce and deadly.

“Yes, yes. Hand it over,” Fabian said, trying to cut the boy off before he could alert anyone in his squad to its true value.

Hearing the tone of the man, the boy just smirked. Then with a movement that was too fast to catch, the boy took the blade up, then impaled it into the ground.

Shink.

The blade sunk into the densely packed dirt until over three-fourths of its blade were submerged deep within the ground.

Everyone stared at the boy in confusion, as they were unable to follow either the movements required to sink the blade or why the boy would do such a thing to his blade.

“In that case, the blade is yours,” the boy said, gesturing to the blade. Hearing those words, Fabian took two greedy steps forward until a word of caution from the boy caused him to stop.

“So long as you can take it, that is,” the boy said dismissively.

Hearing those words, Fabian paused in his steps.