BT - Book 1 - Chapter 95

Micah shifted in the uncomfortable bed.  He’d gotten better at building walls, and ensuring that the roof on his log house didn’t leak, but he’d never really gotten the hang of beds.  It was still a tad too hard, and angled slightly downward.

Usually he made a point of working out or trying to solve a complex problem before trying to sleep.  It helped calm his mind enough that he wouldn’t end up obsessing over his cramped sleeping conditions for hours at a time.

Unfortunately, despite the battle with the Luoca earlier in the day, he wasn’t the least bit tired.  It might be the afterglow of the adrenaline running through his system, but Micah didn’t feel the least bit tired.

Giving up on sleep for the moment, Micah opened his status.

Age 16 [ERROR] / 30

Class/Level Divine Candidate 27

XP 17,000/60,000

HP 2542/2542

Class Specialty

Chronomancer

Attributes

Body 31, Agility 31, Mind 63, Spirit 62

Attunement

Moon 32  Sun 3  Night 28

Mana

Moon 2575/2575 Sun 2517/2517 Night  2567/2567

Affinities

Time 10

Tier V - Foresight 8, Time Echos 1, Temporal Transfer 2, Haste 10
Tier VI - Temporal Vortex 5, Temporal Stutter 4

Wood 7

Tier I - Refresh 11, Mending 9, Plant Weave 12

Tier II - Augmented Mending 18, Root Spears 13

Tier III - Heal 11, Paralytic Sting 6, Explosive Thicket 6

Tier IV - Regeneration 6, Healing Wave 6, Poison Fog 7

Tier V - Panacea 1, Coma 1

Tier VI - Binding Vines 3,

Air 6

Tier I - Gale 8, Air Knife 18, Air Supply 4
Tier II - Wind Shield 8, Sonic Bolt 14

Tier III - Updraft 3, Pressure Spear 8, Sonic Orb 7

Tier IV - Flight 3

Blessings

Mythic Blessing of Mursa - Blessed Return, Ageless Folio

Skills

Anatomy  7

Arcana   13

Enchanting  28

Fishing   1
Herbalism  5

Librarian  5

Ritual Magic  30

Spear   25

-Wind Spear 13
-TITS  7

Spellcasting  37

He smiled into the darkness.  There was no question in Micah’s mind that despite the slightly lower mana totals, his present self could wipe the floor with the iteration from his last timeline, and he only had room to grow.

The sturgeon helped.  He’d have to power it with his own mana if he were away from the defensive formation they’d erected around the camp, but for brief flashes it was almost as powerful as the Luoca.  Unfortunately, those flashes had a tendency to burn through his mana very rapidly, but at least in theory he’d be able to maintain the summon and cast spells of his own at the same time.

Pondering his updated abilities and how to best rename his new martial art, Micah finally felt his eyelids growing heavy.  Gratefully, he let himself drift off to sleep.

His eyes opened as Micah found himself in a dark expanse choked with cloying mist.  As far as he could see, the cold tang of Elsewhere filled the air.

“Human,” a genderless voice echoed through the empty space.  “Rejoice for you have been blessed by the Sixteen”

He frowned, memory trailing back to the first time he’d heard the voice at his blessing, almost fifteen years ago.

“The Goddess Mursa has seen fit to-” it cut out abruptly, leaving him alone in the silent and slightly chilly darkness.

Micah looked around himself.  There was still the hint of unreality he’d come to associate with Elsewhere, but the more he observed, the less he thought he was actually in the misty, formless expanse.

“Happy sixteenth birthday, Micah Silver.  Again.”  He froze, the feminine voice sending icewater down his spine.  Slowly, Micah turned around, squinting into the roiling fog that surrounded him.  In the distance he could spot a massive and everchanging shape as it grew nearer.

“Mursa?”  Micah whispered, licking his dry lips.

The mists shifted, as if an invisible hand waved through their depths.  Micah felt an unearthly wind blow over him.  In the distance he felt more than heard the shape slithercrawl toward him.

“I apologize for dragging you here from Karell,” her voice echoed from the vast nowhere of the empty space, “but recent events have made direct contact necessary.  Unfortunately, even as a goddess, I can only contact you in the midst of certain rituals or on the night of your sixteenth birthday.”

Micah gasped for breath as a great weight settled onto his chest, like a massive sandbag was trying to crush the air from his lungs.  He staggered backward, sweat beading his brow as he felt a massive and unfathomable presence observing him.

For a moment, the fog roiled, and then a thin woman stepped out, a knowing smile on her face.  The pressure dissipated in an instant, leaving the two of them in, alone in the dimly lit sea of mist.

“That was some pretty impressive work with the daemon,” she continued cheerfully.  “Once it slipped its leash in the fight against Elaine Clancy, Ankros put a pretty hefty bet against you.  I didn’t really know if you’d have it in you, but you’ve been incredibly resourceful.  I particularly approve of the use of ritual magic and enchantments to bring it down.  It all felt very poetic to me.

“Elaine Clancy,” Micah blanched, the blood draining from his face as he fought to catch his breath.  “As in the woman who killed the King’s favorite nephew and fought three Royal Knights to a standstill before the nobility, the Knights, and the Throne mediated an agreement with her?  The scourge of the ash wastes?  THAT Elaine Clancy?”

“A troubled but brilliant young lady,” Mursa nodded enthusiastically.  “Short of you, a couple monks living in isolation, and Dakkora herself, she was probably one of the most skilled ritualists to walk the face of Karell.  Really, it was a shame that you had to kill her.  I was excited to see what else she could manage to figure out before the rest of her plans unraveled.”

“She’s a legend,” Micah shook his head, trying to still his slightly shaking hands.  “Seriously, I thought she was either locked in a dungeon somewhere performing dangerous rituals for the crown, or on missions of incredible importance.  What in the hells was she doing in Basil’s Cove of all places.”

Mursa shuffled uncomfortably, looking down for a second before returning her gaze to Micah with a slightly sour look on her face.

“That brings me to why I’m here,” the goddess replied, a hint of embarrassment in her honey sweet voice.  “Luxos has been trying to change the game.  He’s been moving pieces without telling Ankros and I.”

Micah stared at her blankly.  Even if he knew what Mursa was talking about, involving himself in the affairs of deities seemed like a bad idea.  If the pantheon was in the midst of some internal dispute, getting involved in the games of the gods seemed like a great way to literally get himself erased from existence.

She sighed, her hair flaring around her in a corona of silver as some unknown magic seemed to animate it for a brief moment before it gently returned to its normal position.

“Your blessing does not work on my siblings or I,” Mursa smiled gently.  “This hasn’t bothered Ankros and I.  Watching you grow and learn from your mistakes as you complete the same five years over and over again has been more enjoyable than most of Karell’s history.”

“Luxos on the other hand,” her smile twisted into a scowl, “he’s a bit impatient and vain.  More or less what you’d expect from someone who modeled the Sun on himself.  He always demands that he be the center of attention, and as soon as someone else’s idea or plan starts to work, he simply changes the game.”

“I’m sorry,” Micah responded quietly, “I honestly don’t know what you mean by any of that outside of that you apparently lived through the time loops with me?”

Mursa blinked, seeming to come back to herself after her short, heated diatribe.

“Right,” the Goddess responded, a hint of mirth in her voice once more.  “I suppose all you know about the pantheon is what you’ve learned from our respective priesthoods.  They’re more or less right, but over the years some… creative liberties were taken.”

“Theoretically,” she continued, “Ankros, Luxos and I are supposed to be working arm in arm.  We created Karell together, populated it together, and our goals are the same.”

“In practice,” Mursa winced slightly, “we have different philosophies.  I want the races of Karell to rise above their station through scholarship and study.  Ankros believes that the key is for mortals to push their limits through combat and strife.  Luxos, well.  He thinks that improving an entire race will lead to it gradually producing more and more powerful individuals.”

“Ankros and I were able to work through our differences,” she shrugged ruefully, “I could see the merit in testing mortals and he could see the merit in having them learn martial arts and spells before pitting them against each other.  Luxos on the other hand, refused to see either of our viewpoints.”

“As far as he was concerned,” Mursa waved a hand dismissively, “his path was the only way forward.  Usually Ankros and I humor him.  After all, Luxos is our brother, but at times he seems to take his failures… rather personally.”

“That brings us to you Micah,” her eyes zeroed in on him, transfixing him like a field mouse before the attention of a swooping hawk.  “As I’m sure you’ve figured out, Elaine Clancy is far too big of a name for James Hurden to pull in on his own.”

Micah nodded slowly.  Clancy was a bit of a bogeyman in Pereston.  On one hand, the common folk respected her for her willingness to stand up to the Throne and simply do what she liked.  On the other, ‘what she liked’ had a disturbing amount of human sacrifice involved.  He wasn’t sure how much of her reputation was propaganda from the Crown, but there were more than a couple rumors about children disappearing near the areas where she had set up her laboratories.

Eventually, after drawing the ire of most factions, she was declared a ‘strategic asset to the Kingdom’ and given a limited governmental role.  No one knew exactly what she was doing at any given moment, but morally questionable research and clandestine missions seemed to be the two most common guesses.  Regardless of her actual employment, she was a powerful figure that sat outside the normal power structure.  Based on her reputation, she was the sort of person that would be far more likely to mock the Baron to his face than agree to work with him over a long period of time.

“The Church of Luxos intervened,” Mursa sighed.  “Ankros and I are still trying to figure out exactly what they said, but as far as we can tell there were some vague but portentous prophecies made about Basil’s Cove and Westmarch.  All I know for sure is that Pereston has started shifting assets to this area.  None of the Royal Knights, that would upset the balance of power and draw complaints from the nobility, but there are more than a couple suspiciously high level adventuring teams ‘employed’ by Baron Hurden.”

“I suppose that means blessed from the Capital that have been paid or otherwise given some sort of favor by the Crown?”  Micah mused.

“That is my guess,” Mursa replied.  “Of course, my information networks among humans in general and Luxos’ faithful in particular are notably unreliable.”

“But why,” he asked, confusion on his face, “what is Luxos doing and why would he even bother?”

“I don’t know the full details,” the goddess answered, “but Ankros has heard disturbing things from his children.  Durgh have been disappearing in the caverns beneath Westmarch and humans have been sighted.  I suspect that Luxos’ agents are breaking the peace in order to trigger the invasion early.”

She paused for a second, a bitter expression on her face as she looked down on Micah’s childlike body.

“I’m afraid that the Durgh invasion might come earlier this time loop,” Mursa sighed.  “Much earlier.  Ordinarily, it isn’t our way to warn mortals of what is to come, but as I said.  Luxos is changing the rules of the game, so it only seemed appropriate that you be made aware.”

“But why?”  Micah asked, a flicker of anger heating the question.  He’d finally managed to get some semblance of control, and now all of his future knowledge was simply thrown out the window.  It wasn’t fair, but complaining wouldn’t earn him anything.  “I thought you said that you, Ankros, and Luxos were supposed to be on the same side?”

“We’re supposed to be,” she nodded, her body beginning to grow translucent as the mists around them thickened, “but I do not think Luxos appreciated your apparent success.  After all you are my experiment, not his, and it galled him that you’ve come closer to ascension under my guidance than any of his previous attempts.  He’s looking to destroy you in such a way that it will appear to be via your own incompetence rather than his hand.  A Durgh invasion before Blessed Return is fully charged would be a perfect mechanism.”

She shook her head sadly, “it’s Dakkora all over again.”

“What does that mean? He asked anxiously, taking a step toward the goddess as her physical form faded into the mist.  In the distance a huge and sinuous shape uncoiled itself.  “What does any of this mean?  What do you want me to do?  How is this supposed to be fair?”

Mursa’s body was gone, dissolved into the omnipresent mist, and her voice spoke from everywhere at once, laced with enough power to drive Micah to his knees.

“It isn’t supposed to be fair.  Be alert Micah Silver.  I have bet a significant sum on your success, and forces are moving to crush you while you are still in the cradle.  Even if you were to start another timeline, I do not think Luxos would let you be.  You are in uncharted territory now.”

His eyes opened.  Micah was back in his uncomfortable bed, covered in sweat, staring at his home’s crudely thatched roof.