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[Severed Divinity] Chapters 39-42
🕑 Added 2024-04-08 03:48:39 +0000 UTC[ I've been really bad at posting. Appreciate all of you. Doing my best. đ I am aware you are all here for Menocht and have not deluded myself into thinking otherwise, lol. There's really not much more than like, probably 50-70k words left in Menocht. I really just gotta finish it and stick the landing. It's much easier said than done q.q In the meantime I hope Severed Divinity has been enjoyable to those that have given it a shot. ]
Chapter 39. Story for a Story
Late at night, Isen woke with a start. Allezin stood over him, his finger pressed to his mouth. Isen narrowed his eyes and carefully got up.
Allezin ran fast enough that Isen had to sprint to keep up. When theyâd gone a mile out, Allezin stopped. âI need you to come with me on a small trip.â
âWhy do you need me?â
âYouâre the only one who saw traces of the shadowy presence before.â
Isen flinched but couldnât deny it. âAre we going back to the town?â
âNo. Whatever you saw would have been a lingering remnant of a far larger onslaught. After dissipating, thereâs no guarantee it would return.â
âThen⊠youâre going to the next town,â Isen reasoned.
Allezin inclined his head. âYou donât have to come.â
âYou think itâs also been razed,â Isen guessed.
Allezin shrugged. âIf it isnât, then we go back. If it is⊠we search.â
Isenâs curiosity made the choice obvious. âIâll come.â
Allezin patted his shoulders. âUp you go.â
Isen made a face as he wrapped his arms around the warriorâs armored neck. Without any warning, the tier three charged ahead. Allezin moved even faster over the open plains than in Shevenar. Isen felt like he was flying.
The elf only slowed half an hour later when another town came into view. The gates were closed, which was a good sign, until they came close enough to see bodies on the spikes.
They were clearly humans and drayavin, like at the previous town. Allezinâs stride was unfaltering as he jumped over the spikes to the top of the gate, then scaled the wall of the tallest guard tower. The interior was messy, and there was blood, but no bodies.
âDo you see any shadows?â Allezin whispered, letting Isen down.
âNo.â
Allezin grunted, then leaned over a desk on the nearest wall, palming a pale orb that glowed a faint yellow. It wasnât attached to the desk, but a chain snaked from the orb and anchored in the center of the room, disappearing into the stone floor.
âWhat is that?â Isen asked.
âCommunication relay,â Allezin replied. âThe tetherâs still intact, so it might be functional, unlike the one earlier today.â
Oh, Isen thought. Was that one of the reasons he made the stop at the ruined town, to see if the relay would work?
That was when Isen saw it. A shadowy blob hunkered in the corner, only as big as an infant. âHey,â he said softly, âthereâs a shadow.â
Allezin stiffened, his eyes snapping to where Isen had been looking. Allezinâs eyes began to subtly glow pale blue in the dark, distinct from the typical steel gray of his irises. A throwing knife suddenly appeared in his hand and he flicked it at the shadow, dissipating it. The glow faded and Isen thought the warriorâs eyes looked bloodshot in the glow of the communication relay.
The warrior once more focused on the relay, only to be interrupted again by Isenâs nudging. The blue glow of his eyes renewed, and he flinched.
They were surrounded by shadows of different shapes and sizes. One loomed over the others, distinctly human in silhouette. The edges of its form moved like the legs of insects, twitching and disconcerting.
Its shadowy head split open, revealing two rows of sharp teeth and a long, pointed tongue. âAllezin,â it said, voice sibilant. âDo not use the relay.â
The warriorâs expression was inscrutable. âIs that a threat?â
âEldrassin does not yet know this town has fallen.â
Allezin chuckled without humor. âAnd why shouldnât the capital be informed?â
The shadow hissed. âThe capital is the enemy, feasting on the legacy left by the dead queen.â
Legacy? Allezin also seemed confused, though he didnât interrupt.
âSharks are circling, preparing to close in. You should let them. This is not your fightâanything you owed Eldrassin is in the past.â
âWelco⊠what legacy?â
âItâs better if you never know.â
âI need to know!â Allezin spat, his fingers grasping the relay tightly. Isen was concerned for the orbâs integrity. âWhatever it is must be related to why she died.â
âCome to Eldrassin, then, and I will show you. I will not meet with you if you use the relay.â
Allezin ground his teeth. âThe town I was tasked with protecting was practically wiped off the map. Two other towns were mercilessly razed. Not even pillaged! Just destroyed. Drayavin stalk the plains unchecked. How could there be any excuse?â
âTheyâve come for a reason.â
âAnd youâre working with them.â
The shadow laughed. âCome to Eldrassin and seek me out. Then we can have a proper discussion. Donât use the relay.â It turned its gaze to Isen. âCome if you wish. Iâm curious how you can see my shadows.â
With that, the tall figure disappeared. The menagerie of smaller shadows remained, ominously watching them from around the room.
Allezin held onto the relay for a solid minute, not saying anything. Isen hardly dared to breathe. The man ultimately placed the relay back on the table. Then, with a snarl, he expanded his spear and spun it in an arc. Energy scythed through the shadows, reminding Isen of the serpentâs tail attack. The menagerie melted away, leaving the pair alone.
The warrior smacked his shoulder and spun the spear again, retracting it into a short baton. âGet. On.â
Isen had never seen Allezin so incensed. That killing intent that the man had leveraged against the flying drayavin woman returned. It didnât have a specific target, but that almost made it worse. Isen found it hard to move under the undirected pressure.
Allezinâs expression softened and the pressure faded. He sighed. âWeâre not going farâmaybe itâs best you stretch your legs for now instead. Letâs go.â
When they were beyond the walls, Allezinâs pace slowed. He stopped when they came to a small copse of trees far enough away from the ruined town that they couldnât smell the faint odor of smoke.
âIâm sorry,â he finally said.
That was unexpected. âFor what?â
âFor involving you in something beyond your tier.â
Isen brushed his bangs out of his eyes. âIâm used to it. So⊠that was Welco?â
âYes. Though I canât tell if he advanced his Shadow Clones spellâIâve never spent much time around him.â
âHe was waiting for us,â Isen observed.
âNot us specifically, but for anyone who might have investigated the townâs destruction.â Allezin crossed his arms and removed his helmet. He gazed at the star ridden sky. âLumina has been cagey with me ever since her return. But I think sheâs really been that way for a while, and I just never noticed. Never had a reason to notice. How much have we really spoken since we were both tier threes?â He shook his head. âThe secrets and lies are so exhausting. Do you know how tempted I am to just follow Welcoâs advice? Abandon everyone and leave the rest of the refugees to Luminaâs care? Itâs not like theyâll die with her protecting them. Theyâll reach Eldrassin.â
Isen listened mutely.
âI know you know more than you let on,â Allezin continued. âPlease just answer me honestly. Do you know what this supposed legacy of the queen is?â
âNo,â Isen said. A kindling spark overstepped and was devoured by a blistering inferno. âI donât know what Welco was talking about. But⊠I have a sense that whatever caused her death was related to her own ambition.â
âEven I could tell you that,â Allezin muttered, âbut I appreciate you sharing your insights. I donât have to tell you to keep what happened here between us, do I?â
âI wonât say anything.â Isen meant itâwho would he even tell, Talis? But what would the guard be able to do with the information?
Allezin was right that this was beyond the concern of tier twos.
âWhat are you planning to do after we reach Eldrassin?â Isen wondered.
âThat depends on what we find there. Why?â
âI donât know anything about the capital, but I need proper armor. Supplies.â He paused. âTraining.â
Allezin snorted. âIâm not looking for an apprentice.â
Isen laughed. âYou misunderstand. Iâve been guarding the caravan and helping you and the queen. I never asked for anything, and nothing was ever promised to me. But when we reach Eldrassin, I hope you will do your best to assist me, even if you think doing so is beneath you.â
The warrior stared intensely at Isen. âI donât think itâs beneath me,â he said slowly. âIâve never gotten the story on how you ended up in the Elven Lands on your own.â
âAnd Iâve never learned how you came to be the head guard of Shevenar,â Isen retorted.
âFine,â Allezin said. âStory for a story. Iâll go first.â He pushed off the tree heâd started to lean on and set off at a leisurely pace. âYouâve probably inferred this, but long ago, me and Lumina were part of the same group of tier three explorers. We operated in the Southern Ruins.â
Isen perked up. âRuins?â
Allezin glanced back. âThe Southern Ruins are a forbidden zone, but theyâre cordoned off by Mount Barrier and the Finger Peaks.â
Isen had never heard of forbidden zones, though heâd heard of explorers in stories. âWhat were you looking for?â
âRelics, mostly,â he replied. âAnything tier four we could get our hands on.â
âHow was she an explorer?â Isen asked. âDidnât she need to stay in Eldrassin?â
Allezin smirked. âThere was no Eldrassin back then. Everything north of the Highlands of Erakai used to belong to Dray. Lumina only founded the kingdom when she ascended to the rank of divine mage.â
Isen blinked. When heâd heard that elves practically lived forever, and cultivators had elongated lifespans, heâd assumed that there would be kingdoms thousands of years old, rooted in time and place, constants through the ages. Isen didnât know how old Allezin wasâhe still wasnât sure if Allezin was a half elf or not due to his ambiguous features.
âThat sounds like a lot of work,â Isen murmured.
âIt was, but itâs not uncommon for a divine mage to turn an uncivilized part of the world into their own center of power. Anyway, we knew each other from long ago, and I owed her a favor. Thatâs how I ended up in Shevenar.â The warrior gestured to Isen. âYour turn.â
âHave you ever heard of Dawnblade?â Isen asked.
âA human kingdom,â Allezin said. âWestern continent. Is that where youâre from?â
Isenâs eyes widened. So someone did know about where he was from! âIâm from a border town between Dawnblade and Eboncall in the north. Do you know how far Dawnblade is from Eldrassin?â
âFar,â Allezin stated. âAt least a month of travel. The fastest route from here would probably be taking a ship from Shor Mei. Thatâs assuming you can acquire the services of a wyvern between there and Eldrassin; if you canât, tack on at least another month. You could maybe do the entire trip in a week if there were also a route between Shor Mei and Dawnblade, but I find that doubtful.â
âWyvern?â
Allezin raised an eyebrow. âFlying monsters bound by contracts.â He chuckled. âNow, your story. Weâve established that youâre from Dawnblade. How on earth did you get to Shevenar?â
âIf you know Dawnblade and Eboncall, have you heard of the Twining?â
Allezin shook his head.
âItâs the line that splits the two kingdoms. A woman from a distant land came to the Twining to concoct a pill. She⊠succeeded and called down tribulation lightning. The world tore apart. I was sucked into a tear in the world, into the lightless depths filled with monsters.â Isen inhaled. âI eventually found a way out in the mountains near Shevenar.â
âLightless depths?â
âHave you ever been there?â Isen asked.
âSounds like a ruin,â Allezin said, massaging his jaw. âHuh.â
âNow weâre even. Donât forget that youâve agreed to help me when we reach Eldrassin.â
Allezin seemed to be lost in thought. âRuins⊠near ShevenarâŠâ
Isen narrowed his eyes. Did Allezin suspect that the queen knew about the entrance to the depths? It was true that someone had put up a warning flagâa discolored rag adorned with a skull patchâoutside the Lift of Legacy, but Isen had found no traces of recent activity in the area. The only sign that anyone else had reached the Compass of Legacy was the moored boat. But why would someone coming from Shevenar, or Eldrassin City, need a boat to approach the black temple? They wouldnât. So the woman who had controlled the boat to enter the Compass, the woman Isen had seen in his vision, should be from somewhere else.
That still didnât mean that Lumina Eldrassin hadnât found the lift, though.
âWe should get back,â Allezin announced, rousing Isen from his musings. The teen nodded and jumped onto the warriorâs armored back.
When he thought of the future, the sixth sense only gave him a feeling of foreboding.
Chapter 40. Master and Proxy
The days passed slowly due to the tedium of guarding the procession of refugees, but travel went quickly because they made so few stops, forcing everyone to march on the road longer than on the first part of the trek. The growing unease among the refugees was a double-edged sword. They didnât protest the faster pace, but there were more incidents.
The agitation of the masses reached its zenith when people recognized just how close they were to Eldrassin City. Isen had the sense that most elves didnât leave the vicinity of their towns unless escorted by protection details, which could be expensive. There just wasnât a need. That said, many elves made at least one trip every few years to Eldrassin.
There was much about the Elven Lands that remained a mystery to Isen. Where were their farms, their fields? Why were there so few towns, all spread out? The entire kingdom reminded him of the lands near the Twining, and his initial excitement gave way to disappointment. Heâd thought that if everyone had power, they could live freely, unafraid of monsters. Such assumptions were apparently naĂŻve.
When night fell on the last day before reaching Eldrassin, Lumina summoned Isen for a private conversationâtheir first since leaving Shevenar.
Druinala remained outside Luminaâs tent carrying the queenâs divine flame. Her face was slightly sallow as she greeted him. âWelcome, Isen.â
Isen figured that Druinala had been subsisting off a handful of hours of sleep per night since leaving Shevenar. The queen required her to constantly tend the fire. Allezin only took over watching while Druinala slept, keeping the embers alive by providing dry wood and protection from errant gusts.
âHello,â he replied. âI did a hundred shots last night, like you instructed. Hit all my targets.â His quarries were the trees close to where they made camp each night. Heâd never used a bow before, but the weapon seemed rather straightforward. Aim, draw the arrow back, and release. He figured learning the bow with a tier two physique made things easier since his coordination and strength were heightened.
The elf smiled thinly. âThe trees here are rather wide. Not so hard to hit them. Perhaps I can find you a better challenge in Eldrassin City.â
Isen grinned back. âNot just trees. I even shotâŠâ He hesitated, searching for the proper Eldrassin word. âA rabbit?â
She gave him an approving look. âNot bad.â Then she pulled the flap aside for him to enter.
The interior of Luminaâs tent was dim, lit only by a single lantern. When Isen stepped inside, suddenly the tent became awash in pale light. Lumina was practically glowing, the chain mail dress glistening in the light. She wore a pleasant smile as she mentally addressed him. âThere are two matters I want to discuss. Firstâwhen we enter Eldrassin tomorrow, I want you to attend me.â
Isen had half expected this, though this first matter wasnât significant enough for Lumina to call him in alone. âWhat does that involve?â
âAllezin will lead the refugees into the city. I will move separately from him, indistinguishable from the others. We will move with the original merchant caravan that this girl, Mira, came with. We will find lodging. You will come with us.â
âThen what?â
Lumina smirked. âSo blunt. That depends on the state of the city.â She paused. âNow, for the second matter⊠I should have addressed this earlier.â
Isen felt oddly jittery.
âDo you know what I intend to ask you?â
Isen imagined the bright light scouring all falsehoods from existence, leaving no room for darkness or shadows. He swallowed. âI presume⊠itâs about our connection. How we can talk to each other like this.â
Her smile was more of a mask than a true reflection of her emotions. âSmart boy.â She waved her hand and the brightness faded. She held her fingers over the lantern, and they cast shadows on the tent wall. Soon, the shadows morphed, forming a rough façade of the dark templeâthe Compass of Legacy. A tower even extended up from it, fading into the corner of the tent.
âHave you heard of the Goddess Legacy?â she asked.
His heart nearly skipped a beat. It seemed that Allezinâs hunch was correct. Isen had to admit it made senseâhow could a powerful tier four not know about the entrance to the lightless depths in her domain? For her to conjure the image of the Compass of Legacy, Isen figured she must have entered it.
What Isen didnât know was whether simply entering the Compass of Legacy was sufficient to become one of its bearersâa recipient of Legacyâs blessing. When heâd reached the end of the trial, the Compass of Legacy had told him the story of the end of an era and Legacyâs fateâhow splinters of her divinity were the only things to survive the Annihilation of her world. It had told him how the Compass was born from Legacyâs unending torment.
And then it had given him a choice: to accept the burden of Legacy, or to walk away. Heâd chosen the burden.
If Lumina entered the Compass of Legacy, saw the same vision, and received the same question, Isen didnât think sheâd choose differently from him. So⊠did that mean she was a bearer of Legacy, too?
What is the queen expecting me to say? Isen wondered. If itâs as Talis said, and sheâs focused on staying alive, she must be obsessed with understanding the mechanics of her resurrection.
If Lumina learned that she was only resurrected because Isen accepted a prompt from Legacy, he didnât think that sheâd just let him go. Ever since coming back, sheâd monopolized Druinala to preserve the blue-green flame from her funeral pyre. At least Druinalaâs service had an end date. When they reached Eldrassin City and the queen found another mage with a fire affinity, the archer would be free.
So far, almost everyone heâd seen in Eldrassin was a half elf, but supposedly the capital had far more pure elvesâand by extension, many more mages. A fire mage might not be common, but they wouldnât be rare.
Those who bore the burden of Legacy, however⊠Well, Isen didnât know how rare they were. But the Compass of Legacyâs location clearly wasnât common knowledge. Even if its location was known to strong tier three cultivators and mages, and they braved the way to the imposing black structure, Isen couldnât forget the vision heâd seen of the woman who entered the Compass of Legacy and never returned. He couldnât forget what might have happened to Ros.
The possibility of the Compass being a death trap might explain why its location wasnât disseminated.
These thoughts left Isen with one conclusion: for now, he shouldnât let Lumina Eldrassin know that he was a bearer of Legacy. But how should he explain the mental connection? His mind raced to find a way to spin the conversation to serve his goals.
âThe Goddess Legacy⊠I have heard of her, from my master.â
Lumina didnât say anything, waiting for him to elaborate.
âI spent a year in the lightless depths accompanying my master in seeking places of power,â Isen said. âWe came upon a dark temple surrounded by golden water. Outside was the icon of a book hugging a flame.â
Her facial expression remained unchanged. âDid you enter the building?â
âMy master did. Master was at the peak of tier three.â
âDid you enter?â
Isen knew the best trick to lying was to avoid lying directly. âI tried to, though I only ended up in a dark place, separated from my master, before being deposited on the roof of the structure.â
âBoy, youâve spoken cryptically, but I sense a single blood bond between you and a living monster, and itâs a tier three. Is that your master?â
Isen nearly lost his composure. Ros was alive? How did she even know when Isen couldnât sense the blood bond? He knew the tier four queen was weakened since resurrecting in Miraâs body, but maybe she retained some strange magics that allowed her to do things beyond Isenâs imagination. It was the only explanation that made sense.
âIâll take that as a yes.â Suddenly, the shadows winked out and blinding light consumed the room once more. âI think that there may be a connection between your master and I, and that you are currently serving as a proxy. Where is your master now?â
âStill in the depths.â
âVery interesting.â She giggled. âSorry to seem so serious. How would you feel about finding your master once I settle things in the city?â
The taste of opportunity mixed with foreboding. âI would look forward to it.â
âGood. Gods, when we reach the city⊠The first thing Iâll enjoy is a proper shower. And maybe a set of proper armor.â She snickered. âIâm glad that nothing terrible has befallen us on this trip and put our leatherworking craftsmanship to the test.â
Isen just smiled and nodded.
âYou may go.â
Only as the flap closed behind him did Isenâs heart begin to settle.
Chapter 41. Journeyâs End
âEldrassin is an hour out,â Allezin announced, projecting his voice over the procession. Even then, it was hard to hear him over the chatter, but the news spread outward in a wave.
To Isenâs eyes, Eldrassin city was barely visible. He squinted, trying to make out any details, when Talis walked over. The half elf shouldâve been manning his post, but this close to the city, and with guards stationed around the periphery, the danger was nonexistent.
âWhat do you think?â Talis asked, gesturing to the distant smudge.
âI canât see much,â Isen confessed.
âYou should be able to see the city clearly from here, at your level.â He tapped his lip. âYou spent the last year as a cultivator in darkness, right? That might be to blame. You didnât heighten your visual acuity.â
Isen didnât like hearing that his eyesight was poor. âWhat should I do to see better?â
He had meridians in his face, but none of them went directly to his eyes. He didnât even know what sending refined energy to his eyes would do. Isen knew that people and animals could move because of the muscles in their bodies pushing and pulling on the skeleton, and he knew what his heart, lungs, and stomach did. But everything in his headâhis brain, his eyes, his ears, and noseâdidnât move. They didnât really seem to do anything. They just were.
Talis shrugged. âIt should happen naturally over time as you temper your body and observe the world. Thatâs not why I came over, though. I wanted to set your expectations for Eldrassin City.â He paused. âI donât want to make any assumptions. Have you ever been to a proper city before?â
Isen hesitated, then shook his head.
Talis sighed. âWhy am I not surprised? Thatâs probably for the best, thoughâyouâll come in without expectations. Eldrassin is a tiered city. The primary level where weâll enter is for tier twos. The upper level is for tier threes. The lower level is for tier ones and anyone who isnât a cultivator or mage.â
âHow will that work if weâre tier twos but the merchants weâre traveling with are tier one?â
âItâs not a rigid system. Thereâs flow between all the levelsâthough mostly between the primary and lower ones. The main requirement to reside permanently in a specific level is for the head of household to be of the required tier.â
âSo⊠the upper level might have a lot of lower tiered people all within the âhouseholdâ of a single tier three?â Isen reasoned.
Talis smiled. âExactly. Tier threes that have settled in Eldrassin should have large compounds in the upper level. For short term stays, people can choose to stay in any of the levels, though the cost for the upper level is typically exorbitant.â
âWhere will we be staying?â
âThe primary level.â
So the level for tier twos. Isen didnât question it. âIs there anything else I should know?â The tier system seemed straightforward enough.
âDonât wear your helmet in the city, it looks silly, but you should still try to cover your ears. Itâll draw less attention for you to pass as a half-elf, especially since youâre tier two.â
âI thought there would be humans here,â Isen said. Heâd been looking forward to seeing people like himself. What were humans even like this far from Dawnbreak? He wondered if humans from the Elven Lands had ever been part of the caravans that passed through Goldbounty.
âThere are humans here, but they tend to keep to themselves. They live in enclaves, and most of them arenât tier two, if theyâre even cultivators at all. If youâre going with us, youâre best off passing as an elf.â
Isen wasnât opposed to itâTalis had mentioned something about getting a cloak to hide his ears when theyâd first entered Shevenar, not that theyâd had the time to buy one with the drayavin attack. He still thought heâd give himself away the second he opened his mouth.
âFine,â Isen agreed.
Talis gave him a small smile, then opened up a small satchel on his belt. He withdrew a plain, thin scarf, black with golden embroidered details.
Isen didnât ask where he got itâit was almost certainly looted. He took it and rubbed his fingers over the fabric. It felt like linen, cool and breathable. He tried to tie it around his head, but evidently he did a poor job. Talis chuckled and tied the scarf, first folding it in half and then wrapping it over Isenâs forehead and around to his nape. Sure enough, it covered the tips of his ears.
âWonât my ears still look oddly short?â Isen asked. Half elf ears extended at least half an inch longer than a typical human ear.
âItâll be fine. When people notice your tier, they wonât question it.â
âAnd⊠how would they notice it?â Isen wondered, confused. âItâs not like Iâll be broadcasting it.â
âYouâll see when we get there.â Talis waved and returned to watching over his part of the procession.
A few minutes later, a group of four riders from Eldrassin approached on the fastest horses Isen had ever seen. The beasts blazed over the road, their strides long and powerful, their heads narrow, with ears tucked back over their skulls. Were they even horses? They had long, supple legs and hooves, but they looked like they had smooth, furless skin beneath the ornate textiles that draped over their sides beneath their saddles. They still had hairâtheir deep violet manes were braided with pink flowers, and their tails trailed out behind them like the eddies of the night sky, dark and rippling, untamed.
Their riders were dressed in black lacquered armor with white accents. They wore dark tabards with the icon of a swooping, four-pointed white star. On their breasts, each wore a small pin that Isen could just barely make out at a distance since they glinted in the sunlight.
Allezin intercepted them, suddenly appearing at the head of the procession. Isen wasnât close enough to hear what he said, but three riders stayed with the procession as escorts, while the fourth returned to the city.
The walls of Eldrassin City were like earthen cliffs but filed to an immaculately smooth finish of pure white. The gatesâa tall half-circle cut down the middleâhad been carved into the base where the road met the city. They were held ajar for travelers to enter.
When the refugees saw the gates, they lost their godsdamned minds.
Nervous and excited chattering gave way to ferocious cries and wails, shouting and clamoring. They needed to get into the city, now. It was a chaotic mess. Order broke down before the elvish stampede as seemingly everyone able bodied and without encumbrances ran ahead. The four escorts on horseback seemed taken aback and sped up to keep abreast of the procession. Allezin disappeared in the tumult.
Isen abandoned his post without any guilt. Heâd helped escort the refugees across the kingdom of Eldrassin because the people had needed him, even if they groused under his watch. Now that theyâd arrived at their destination, he was happy to relinquish the responsibility.
He found Talis, who seemed to share a similar opinion, and together they tracked down Lumina Eldrassin and Druinala, who were with the merchant caravan that Talis and Druinala were still technically paid to escort. Since the survivors of the caravan had to tow the salvaged carts themselves, they were near the rear of the procession.
It was better that wayâIsen didnât have to worry about anyone getting trampled. Consequently, they were some of the last to join the line outside the gate. Thousands of refugees needed to be processedâIsen figured it would take a while.
He sighed and lifted his eyes to the blue sky, thankful for the continued good weather. Inside, his stomach churned with uncertainty. Lumina Eldrassin had plans, ones that he wasnât privy to, but he could potentially leverage his connection with her to find Ros.
He wasnât stupidâeven if he could sense the bond between him and Ros, going into the depths, at least through the Lift of Legacy and across golden lake, was suicidal for a tier two. He needed higher tiered support. And even if Lumina wasnât close to her original level as a tier four, she was still quite powerful.
Then there was the mystery of what was going on in Eldrassin in the wake of the queenâs death. It wasnât Isenâs duty to find out what force was leaving a path of destruction over the land, be it the forces of Dray or an elf like Welco the Haunt. He had no allegiance to the Elven Lands.
But he also couldnât wipe the scenes of destruction from his mind. He wanted to know why the deaths of so many civilians had happened. Heâd peeked behind the curtain when heâd followed Allezin, and he wanted to learn as much as he could while the sixth sense indicated he wasnât in imminent danger.
âYour scarf looks nice,â Druinala said in Eldrassin, interrupting his musings.
He stared at her blankly. âThank you.â
She turned to Talis. âHis accent really isnât half bad. Sounds almost Erakaian.â
Isen shifted. âI still have trouble when people talk quickly.â
âNot that much trouble,â Talis said. âDonât tell anyone you only started learning elvish a week ago.â
âWhy?â
The half elf scoffed. âBecause, theyâll be calling me and Druinala the best teachers in the Elven Lands! We donât need that kind of attention.â
Isen bit his lip, smiling. âMira also helped.â Theyâd taken to calling the queen by her vesselâs name in public settings.
The girl just raised an eyebrow and gave a light shake of her head. âI can see why a tier three monster decided to keep you, rather than leave you to your fate,â she told Isen privately.
That was when two of the merchants from the caravan approached, a man and a woman that Isen vaguely recognized as leadership figures in the much-reduced group. The man cleared his throat. âDruinala, Talis, do you have a moment?â
âOf course,â Talis said. They were all speaking elvish, but the half elf merchants spoke slowly enough that Isen could follow. The grammatical structure of elvish wasnât too similar to the common human language, but he could translate most of what they said.
âAs we understand it, you and Druinala will continue with us while the⊠issue with Mira is sorted out. I wanted to talk about what comes after that.â He rubbed his hands together. âWe are soralanon to both of you for your assistance over the past week, and for the months before then while we traveled. You went beyond any expectations we had.â
Talis held out a hand. âItâs fine, Verik. I understand the situation. Youâll be joining another, larger caravan, rather than going alone, as you had in the past. As such, you wonât need to pay for your own protection.â He nodded. âYou wonât need to continue paying for us. Itâs business.â
âWe had a contract for half a year,â the woman stated, crossing her arms. âWe can give you some recompense for canceling earlyâŠâ
Talis stopped her. âWe refuse.â He glanced at Druinala. The elf nodded, her green eyes inscrutable. âWe can find other work. All I can say is, Iâm sorry this trip ended in such disaster.â His voice trembled on the last word. He thrust his hand forward, then shook hands with the two merchants. Druinala didnât shake their hands, but she gave each a nod.
When they left, Talis turned away and rubbed at his eyes. Druinalaâs expression remained unchanged.
âWhatâs soralanon?â Isen asked.
Talis usually answered such questions, but it was Druinala who spoke. âWhen someone has done something for you that cannot be paid back, and they do it without any expectations of repayment, how you feel⊠is soralanon.â She paused. âIt is an important word to elves, never to be used lightly.â
It sounded like indebted, but with a much greater gravity. It resonated with Isen. It was how he felt about Ros.
Iâll find him again, no matter what it takes.
Chapter 42. Eldrassin City
They made small talk until they reached the gates.
Despite the chaos of processing thousands of refugees, the gates seemed well-ordered. There were five gate guards. Up close, Isen could tell that they were all true elves by their long ears and gem-bright eyes. What kind of place has mages as gate guards? he wondered. They didnât seem particularly exhausted despite the huge volume of people. Maybe they had recently swapped with another guard group.
One sat at a table, two stood with batons in hand, and the last two each held a needle in one hand and a shallow bowl of water in the other. Isen figured they must be magical items, though didnât have any idea what they could be. The line of refugees had been thick, and he was shorter than the average adult due to his age, so he hadnât seen the guards at work until it was their turn to be processed.
Everyone in their group, including the merchants, seemed content to let Talis do the talking. They were too exhausted to care at this point. Talis and the guards talked so fast that Isen caught every other word at best, and there were a few words thrown in that were foreign to him.
He was caught off guard when Talis called him up. âItâs his first time in a large city,â Talis explained. âProcess me first, so he knows what to expect.â
One of the guards, a blonde elf with broad lips and a slightly upturned nose, held her needle toward Talis. The warrior pulled his sleeve back and she stuck the needle in just behind his wrist. She withdrew it with a sinuous motion and dipped it in the dish of water. The blood eddied in the liquid; Isen didnât notice anything peculiar about it.
âTier two,â the woman suddenly announced. The guard sitting at the small table withdrew a small pin from a simple lockbox. He waved his hand over it, then flicked it toward Talis. The pin flew slowly and in an irregular trajectory, as though carried by someone invisible rather than thrown. It skimmed across the dish of water with Talisâs blood, where it glowed for a moment. Then, it flew out of the water to Talis.
The half elf warrior snatched it out of the air and nodded to Isen. âYour turn.â The small prick on his wrist had already stopped bleeding.
Isen unfastened his left vambrace while the blonde elf tossed out the dishâs bloodied water into a grate and summoned a globe of water. She tossed the needle and dish into the globe, and used her hands to work the watery orb, the two instruments sloshing around. In the meantime, the other guard with the needle worked on Druinala. There seemed to be some commotion related to why Druinala insisted on keeping a flame on her shoulder, but the elf looked like she had the situation handled.
The blonde elf retrieved her instruments, then sent the globe of water down the drain and refilled the bowl of water with fresh liquid. She positioned the needle over Isenâs arm and smiled encouragingly, like she was trying too hard. âYou must have been brave to make it all this way.â
Isen just stared at her.
She smiled even harder in response. âReady?â
Isen nodded. She acted without hesitation, plunging the needle down. It was oddly warm as it sank into his skin. Isen barely felt the prickâthe tip was thin and sharp enough to pass through tier two skin without any resistance.
He brought his wrist to his mouth and sucked at the bead of blood that welled up while the blonde elf dipped the needle in the dish. She took slightly longer interpreting the result than Talis. After a few seconds, she looked at him, her smile gone. She appeared contemplative. âTier two.â
Like the others, he received a pin, and he looked to Talis and Druinala to see where he was supposed to put it. Talis attached his to his breast, Druinala on her shoulder. Isen fastened his on the collar of his red silk tunic, where it stuck out from his leather armor.
The elven guards needed to test everyone, even the tier ones. Isen was surprised the guards had processed the line as fast as they had. Perhaps theyâd had more than five earlier, when the line had been at its longest.
âWhat are the pins for?â Isen mentally asked Lumina.
âKeeping peace in a city of cultivators and mages is difficult,â she replied, not yet answering the question. âEspecially when people have variable levels of strength. What happens when a tier one fights with a tier two? A tier three?â
âThe pins are supposed to stop that?â Isen asked.
âNo. A tier one knows better than to fight a tier threeâthat is just the way of things. The pins are to prevent people from taking advantage of power hierarchy through deception. People pretending to be lower tier than they are, and the reverse, are problematic.â
âWhatâs to stop me from taking off my pin and pretending to be a tier one?â Isen asked. The tier ones and non-cultivators didnât get pins at all.
âAs a visitor, if youâre not wearing the pin for more than four hours, the police will be notified and dispatched. The limit is twelve hours for residents of Eldrassin.â
Isen didnât know what âpoliceâ meant but didnât want to derail the conversation. âHow does anybody know if Iâm wearing it?â If they could tell if he was wearing the pin or not, what else would they be able to do? Could they track where he was? He didnât have plans to do anything uncouthâhe wasnât a street urchin anymoreâbut heâd possibly be following Allezin to meet with WelcoâŠ
âItâs really quite simple, though most people donât know and donât care. Thereâs a sensor in the pin thatâs sensitive to light, and another one that senses proximity from the being whose blood itâs been tied to. You must wear the pin, and it must be exposed to the light, so that people can see it. Someone else cannot wear it for you.â
Countless âwhat-ifâ questions ran through Isenâs head, but he held himself back from asking them. He figured simple inquiries like, âwhat happens if someone sleeps unclothed, and takes the pin off?â had answers. The elves had millennia to figure out the pin system, and unless they wanted to be bombarded by constant false alarms, they must have figured out most common situations.
âSo⊠they canât track where people are?â
âI never said that,â she replied. She glanced Isenâs way and flashed him a mischievous smile. âSome people think they can, and weâve never denied it. But no, the tier two pins canât track anyone. The tier three pins, on the other handâŠâ
That would be an Allezin problem, then. Isen put concern for himself from his mind. The idea of the city watching him, knowing where he was⊠He was surprised that tier threes would subject themselves to that. It was such an overt method of control. Lumina Eldrassinâs little leashes on her tier three vassals.
âAre other elven cities like this? Shor Mei?â
âAll have their own systems of keeping peace between those of different power. Shor Mei uses a much looser system, but they can afford to with the size of their police force.â
The conversation cut off when Luminaâs blood was tested. She was marked as a tier one.
It was support for Isenâs growing theory that Lumina, as a mage, couldnât increase her vesselâs power. Physically, her host, Mira, was just a half elf girl, probably a cultivator at the very bottom of tier one. It was more of a miracle that Lumina could use any of her power at all within such a weak vessel.
Once their group finished the testing, Talis and Druinala led them through the gate. The white walls were thicker than Isen expected, the passage between the gate and the city a veritable tunnel. The tunnel sloped downward, into the earth, though it wasnât so severe that the wagons became unmanageable. Soon, Isen could hear an unfamiliar noise, almost like a rumbling storm.
When they emerged, Isen was blinded for a second before his eyes adjusted and took in the scene. They had emerged on a broad outcrop of earth lined by tan tiles. About forty feet below them, a bridge with four lanes, each broad enough for standard wagons, stretched across a chasm. From their viewing angle, Isen couldnât see the bottom.
He glanced behind and saw a broad cliff that stretched far to the left and right, curving around to encompass the city. The tunnel theyâd emerged from was insignificant before the scale of the mountains.
Isen returned his gaze to the front. On the other side of the bridge lay a dense collection of buildings, their walls almost universally blinding white or light tan, with clay roof tiles. Unlike the elegant, sloping roofs of the other elven villages, the roofs in Eldrassin City were flat and plain, extremely practical. It made sense when they were pressed so close together.
He looked to the right and noticed another tunnel bored into a section of the canyon walls that led to another bridge, connecting to another part of the city. More than one gate, then.
He wasnât sure how they were supposed to reach the bridge from their elevated platform, but nobody seemed worried. Talis simply led everyone forward and waited at the platformâs edge. Isen joined him and looked down.
The view was stunning.
The pale rock plunged into a mist-filled gorge. A ferocious river flowed downstream over the rocks and then fell off the edge, plummeting into a distant lake and churning up white froth. Isen just stared, uncomprehending.
Talis nudged him. âFirst waterfall?â
âYeah.â It wasnât the falls that left him speechlessâit was the power of the water. Goldbounty didnât have anything like this roaring river. The depths didnât either. The radiant lake was fairly calm. Isen had passed by small rivers and streams in Eldrassin, but nothing like this. One of Lady Jinâs books had talked about erosion, the process by which water carved rock. He hadnât understood the concept until now.
âThe liftâs coming,â Talis called out. âWagons to the front.â
Isen flinched, then saw what Talis was talking about. A wide rectangle next to the rock was ascending their way. Two elves stood on the sides and made gestures with their arms, as though pulling on a rope. A minute later, the platform arrived. It was simple, adorned only by the icon of a four pointed star at the center of the floor tiles.
One of the elves stepped forward, a man in a black tunic and pants, wearing the same tabard as all the other guards Isen had seenâblack with Eldrassinâs star at the center. His long ears and bright green eyes marked him as a true elf.
âTwo wagons, easy enough. You part of the group from Shevenar?â He had a heavy accent, but the words were obvious based on context.
âWe are,â Talis confirmed.
âFree passage then.â The elf waved. âGet on.â
In the name of expediency, Isen, Talis, and Druinala helped the merchants to push the wagons onto the platform. To Isenâs surprise, the elf who remained close to the guard railsâa woman with long black hair and orange eyesâturned and made a pushing motion. The platform began to expand, widening to better fit the two wagons and the group of eighteen. Even the rails lengthened to fit the new shape.
Isen had never seen so much utility magic in such a short span of time. It was amazing.
Once everyone had gathered onto the platform, the elves in black tabards nodded and made the pulling motion from before.
The platform slid down in a controlled descent. Isenâs stomach lurched. Several tier one merchants looked unwell, especially those that insisted on peering over the edge. Isen thought heâd be in similar condition if not for his tempered body.
The platform touched down and they were ushered off. A short walk ahead of them lay the bridge Isen had seen from above, the one that stretched over the chasm into the city. Talis led them across, their group taking up both lanes leading forward. The lanes headed back were empty; it seemed that nobody was leaving.
Given the danger beyond the walls, Isen wasnât surprised.
The bridge was longer than it had appeared at a distance. As the group walked across, Talis, Druinala, and Lumina Eldrassin remained at the front; Isen was sent to the back to ensure nobody fell behind. Relatively alone, he reflected on the cityâs design.
Lumina had established Eldrassin City inside a huge canyon. It was an odd choice, Isen thought. Heâd never heard of a city sunken into the earth. To invade, a force had to scale the imposing wallsâwhich extended over the natural height of the canyonâand then survive the precipitous drop on the other side. Then theyâd need to make their way to the city proper without the use of mage-powered lifts or the bridgesâIsen assumed those could be destroyed or retracted if Eldrassin were besieged.
It felt like a city built for war.
When they finally crossed the entirety of the bridge, Isen was brimming with anticipation. He couldnât see well from the back. The bridge tilesâclean, square, with almost nonexistent seamsâcontinued into the city, lining the corridor that Talis and Druinala lead the group through. Isen's gaze was everywhere as they squeezed through the congested street. Their two wagons were a bit irregularâthe area was dominated by pedestriansâso most gave their group a wide berth.
It might also be because we stink, Isen thought. Isen had never seen people who were, universally, so clean. Everywhere he looked, he saw people with white teeth, clothes that looked just washed, and spotless shoes. Was the city covered in a forever-clean spell? Did such a thing exist? Or was this just what the primary district was like since most tier twos lived there? Maybe they all lived in buildings with refilling water buckets and plentiful soap. Isen didnât dare hope that they might have bathing facilities to rival those heâd enjoyed in the sanctum.
Isen still couldnât read elven sigils, so the signs on the buildings were a mystery to him. He did recognize the numbers written on the buildings, thoughâthe common tongue shared the numeric system with the elves. He had no idea what they were for, though. Perhaps to make it easier to find certain buildings or shops within the larger city? They did have a logic to them, decreasing the further they walked into the city. When Talis finally turned off the street theyâd started on, the numbers jumped.
It took over an hour for them to reach their destinationâa large compound at the end of a side street. There was nothing behind it aside from pale rock. Elegant columns framed the entrance, a tan wooden façade with bright red doors.
Isen exhaled.
Finally.
Their journey was over.
So why did it feel like the trials had just begun?
[ This city pic is not 100% accurate but it gets the vibe across. ]
Comments
Deinos
Don't mean to spam but just want to be clear: Severed is good, real good. I'm reading a lot of this kind of stuff so I think my opinion holds a bit merit. It's just that people weren't prepared for it I think. They expectes more apple pie and got a burger instead.
Deinos
If people left I think it's more because of communication and yes, because they wanted the initial story. Though sometimes ( like me ) people stay for the new story, I think it'd be more if the transition was smoother and yeah consistency of updates.
Deinos
I was here for menocht but I stayed because of severed
Chase C
I love Menocht Loop and you were actually the very first Patreon author I subscribed to so I could get advanced chapters for it. That said, Severed Divinity has been a really fun and engaging story so far and I'll definitely stay subscribed once Menocht Loop is over to keep reading. I can't speak for everyone, but I have no problem waiting for the chapters if you think taking the additional time will let you finish the story in the way you've envisioned
PoeticSaint
Looking forward to more!
Jakob
I've been loving severed divinity tbh, I'm here just as much for it as I am for menocht loop at this point!
