Windchime noises. ~Bard, The Wandering Caretaker.
Enjoy! Next chapter is also a similar length. Dropping tomorrow.
Also quick novel recommendation: Shattered: A SAO tale and RWBY: Moon Reflection.
Both novels are extremely good with quite a few chapters. The second one is completed. And both are really well written with great reveals. Smart writing.
I will try to recommend novels like this often since they deserve support with all the translated/AI generated fics that really just clog up this website.
The second half of this chapter might not be something you might like but I have been putting it off for nearly the entire story. It is time they were introduced and I cannot imagine a better place to get them from than Targon and its residents. Check author note for more.
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"Daddy." Faye spoke as the group walked toward their destination. "We need to send this letter."
Gregori reached for the letter in her hand, "Is it just to Demacia?"
"To the Avarosans as well." Rell answered. "It has been quite a while since we talked to them. A letter is the least we can do. And Daisy misses them." Rell looked at her sister, "And she is not alone in that."
He nodded. "Alright. We should be able to find a way to get it to them. Going to Targon and passing it to the first Demacian we see is not the best choice of action, since we are going somewhere else. But we might come across a tribesman at our destination. One who would be willing to do us a favor."
"Lets hope." Rell replied.
Their were well on their way to Nerimazeth. The place had a lot of cultural significance, especially to Caalyx. It was once the capital of Ancient Shurima. There used to be a smaller version of the Sun Disc there. But when they had decided to move the capital to the center of Shurima, the land had been left behind.... abandoned. But settlers were quick to form a village in the resource rich area and things grew from there over the years.
The reason why the capital was moved was because of its proximity to the mountain. The foots of Mount Targon was only a day's walk away, and it was problematic when the clash between Lunari and Solari threatened to spill into its lands.
As an ally to Targon, Azir couldn't in good faith interrupt an ideological battle between two Aspects and their followers.
It was moronic at best and disastrous at worst.
But then again, after the fall of the empire, the Ascended had brought waste to the land. For what reason no one really knew.
But nowadays Nerimazeth had grown into a beautiful land. One which, with the presence of a teleporter had become a central part of connecting the mountain with the rest of the world.
The large trades for items that Piltover required? All came from Targon and through Nerimazeth. The past couple years had brought about a large monetary change to the place.
But that would change soon.
Central Shurima was developing at speeds unheard of. The very sand listened to the Emperor. And homes and structures were built within minutes. Unbelievably fast and effective.
"I brought the item with me as well." Faye said as she pointed to her bag.
Gregori nodded and looked at the rest, "All of you as well?"
Daisy shook her head, "I don't need it."
"Are you sure?" He asked as he eyed the girl.
She nodded. "I have my sword.... I do not need another."
"If you say so." He replied. "Anyone else?"
They shook their heads.
"Briar?"
She lifted her necklace from under her shirt and showed it proudly. "Never take it off."
"You took it off once." Annie pointed out.
Briar turned to her with a frown, "Never... after that."
Annie snickered to herself at that.
"Tibbers is with you?" Gregori asked, unable to see the bear.
She nodded and turned around. The bear's head stuck out of her satchel, flopped over.
He almost laughed at the sight.
Her attachment to the bear was still quite strong but it was nowhere near what it was before. She could bear to spend sometime without the bear in her immediate vicinity. One the bear did not quite like.
But placing Tybaluk in an easy to see place above the fireplace was usually enough for the demon. Just enough to be seen and given attention to.
However, Annie had grown. Changed. It was to be expected after all. Everyone one of his children had changed over the years.
And the items that he had asked the children to check for had been gifts from Soraka, the Ottrani and the Solari. They were items that both helped the children manage their magic while also channel it offensively and also possessed various unique abilities.
Each child got something that was tailored to them.
It had already been three days since their departure from home. Three days of continuous walking. The scenery was not something to write home about. It was passable. Lots of dull ground to cover. The only parts that were breathtaking were the hills. To the left lay the mountainous region with the sea peeking through and to the right was the endless desert.
Oddly, it had taken him three days to ask if the children had brought those items with them.
And as predicted all those years ago.
The children did not like the sand.
They hated it. They hated how they couldn't move well and felt dragged down. The sun was also something they hated. Dry winds. Humidity. And worst of all.... the sweat.
Jus a single one of these factors could really anger a person. But all of them together? A recipe for disaster. And understanding this he decided to not take them through the desert.
It was a shorter distance.
But it would take so much out of the group that it did not matter if they arrived quicker.
This was peaceful. It was better.
Due to it being mostly empty hilly areas, other than a couple wild goats and insects, they did not chance upon anyone.
"Gregori." Caalyx vibrated. "Use your wrapping on me now."
"Why?" He asked. "We are far enough from Targon that it doesn't really matter."
"No." He replied. "It is not that."
"Then what?" Gregori asked.
"Are you going to sleep?" Daisy asked. "Willa said that as people get older they tend to sleep more."
"What?" Caalyx sounded shocked, "No!"
"Just answer Caalyx." Gregori wanted him to get to the point instead of stalling.
Caalyx floated in front of the group and then used the tip of the spear to point toward their destination, "There is an Ascended in Nerimazeth."
"A friend?" Sydell asked.
Caalyx shook, "No. I recognize the magic." He moved to Gregori's side, "Do not waste too long in the place. In and out. If I did not care for your wellbeing I will instantly attack this one. That is why I am asking to be sealed. Not for fear of him recognizing me rather me not being able to control myself near him."
"An enemy then." Gregori nodded as he stopped and grabbed the wrapping for the spear. "What did he do?"
"Caused the fall of the empire." Caalyx answered as he allowed himself to be wrapped, "He is the epitome of greed and jealousy. The kind that should be buried on sight. But not now. There is time for that yet." His voice grew fainter as the wrapping continued, "I will see to that."
Placing the now fully wrapped spear above his satchel, Gregori used one of the straps to tie it in place.
"So we might meet an Ascended...." Daani whispered to his siblings.
Despite whispering, due to the proximity, it did not escape Gregori's ears. "No we are not. This is an enemy. And the Ascended are naturally as strong as Darkin. But are not empowered by the blood magic. They can fall. They can die. Just not of old age. But do not consider that mortality a sign of weakness. I have seen Caalyx's memories myself.... these beings are beyond imagination."
"So if we are spotted we run?" Daani said louder.
"Yes." Gregori answered. "We take it slow. Gather information. And then plan our move."
They nodded.
"And that is only if we are delayed." Gregori continued, "Shipments go twice a day. We might make it in time to catch the one leaving at night."
"If we don't?" Briar asked.
He sighed, "If we don't and we cannot stay outside the reaches of the area... then we stay the night at an inn."
"That is the only option huh?" Daisy spoke, "Can we just ask Soraka if there would be a problem during our journey?"
"She can predict the future?" Sydell looked confused.
Gregori shook his head, "First. She cannot predict the future. And second. We do not bother her unless absolutely necessary. Responding to our prayers causes harm to her person."
"But she said that she will outlive us by many years even if she answered every prayer." Daisy pressed not taking a no for an answer.
"So you are willing to keep hurting someone if they say that it does not hurt?" Gregori asked her.
She stilled for a moment and then shook her head, "I understand what you mean. That was stupid."
Gregori nodded, "Yes. It was."
"Tibbers can feel a lot of guilt." Annie spoke up. "It was small at first but it is growing a lot." She spread her hands apart, "A looot."
Gregori frowned as he looked at the map they were following. "Tell him to not absorb it."
"Why?" Annie asked, "He says he would become really strong in a short while."
"Guilt means that someone is actively doing something wrong and is feeling bad about their actions." He explained, "And the fact that there is so much that he wants to eat it now means that there are a lot of people feeling extreme guilt. Guilty people take their time in doing their bad actions. Taking that away from them would speed up their actions. They would be doing whatever they were doing without the remorse that held them back."
"But Tibbers says that it won't matter." Annie spoke, "He is really interested in eating all of the guilt."
He nodded trying to find common ground with the demon, "Not until we can safely leave then. Before the teleporter actually sends us to Piltover, he can consume all the guilt he can."
"He says okay." Annie smiled.
It would be enough. Gregori fell into thought as he began to piece things together. An Ascended and a lot of guilt.
Either there is a massive crime operation taking place with people being forced to do things they do not want to... or the Ascended is having people do his bidding. One was infinitely easier to ignore.
He stopped and pulled out more runic wrapping. He had brought a lot with him in order to seal the next weapon. Struggling to seal Joraal and Caalyx was a one time mistake. Preparation was key. And he was going in prepared.
"Wrap any and all magical items with this." He said as he handed it out to his children.
Annie looked at him questioningly.
"Not Tibbers." Gregori clarified.
She nodded and got to work.
Faye pulled out a metallic object with rings that softly spun about a magical core. The Dawncore. It helped her magical reserves while also making her magic itself stronger. If willed to, the item can create a shield that shimmered into existence over the user or anyone she wanted it to be on. The item could then not be used for a day, until it received the light of dawn.
Rell held out a locket. It was a gift from from Rahvun. Locket of the Iron Solari. It protected the user or anyone the user wants from one incoming attack while also making them faster for a few seconds. Rahvun had been impressed by Rell's grit when they had tried following Solari training and had given it to her. But it only had a certain amount of uses. Five to be specific.
Sydell opened his palm to reveal a small floating ball, the magic inside the ball spun slowly. Carved onto the top of the orb was a glowing eye. The Greater Orb. He had chosen it from the pile of Ottrani belongings. It could grant vision of an area far from the location the user was currently at. His reasoning for picking this item? Information gathering. Do things similar to his father.
Daisy shrugged not having brought the Moonflair Spellblade. The sword was something that she used as a spare when training. When swung it sent a wave of condensed moonlight. The only downside was that it needed the moon to show its true strength.
"My hat..." Annie seemed down as she held out her item. Wooglet's Witchcap. A witch's hat with a pointy tip that Annie adored. She had grown into its size. The item could empower one instance of magic from a user. But the instance is random. It was uncontrollable in that aspect. But she like it like that. With her newly developed skills and abilities, she was a force to reckon with when she wore the hat, even without bringing out Tibbers.
Daani's item was smaller, and was tied around his arm. It was a sash that flowed like a liquid but resembled a solid to the touch. Quicksilver Sash was its name. It removed any negative effect through magic, like fear or even illusions while giving clarity and focus. It helped give a higher control to his magic which he had grown to need. The training with the Ottrani had seen to that.
"You don't need to wrap your pendant Briar." Gregori said as he watched her grip the item. There was a change to it as well. It had started to turn red. The blue crystals. Her blood magic was invading them. Changing them. Soraka had seen it and said that it might show something beneficial in the future once the change had completed and encouraged them to leave it alone until then.
The entire group aside from Briar wrapped their items and then continued on their way.
And as nightfall came, so did their destination.
"There is a lot of magic here daddy." Briar said as they approached the city. She pointed to the goosebumps forming on her hands. "See."
He nodded but did not speak. He could feel the magic as well. It was foreboding.
The city did not have walls for protection. It did not need it. With Targon on one side and the open desert on the other. It did not need any protection at all.