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Chapter 21: The Boy Who Might Lead
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Time went by and the frozen lakes thawed. They watched the snow melt and the green grass flourish as they labored under the training of the priests, their bruises ever growing alongside their skills. In the fourth month of their third year in the seminary a new training was added to the already tasking ones they had: climbing.
They accessed an upper room to have lessons with Father Antuas every morning before training, and after mass. The building that housed the room stood as tall as the towers of the fort. They swam across a water body that surrounded it, then climbed. It taught them that Takaris possessed a fear of heights.
Every day Antuas taught them the history of the seminary. He taught them of its glorious tales. He taught them of its crushing defeats. They learned the assassinations of the different Monsignors, their ages, and how long they were in power. They learned everything worth learning of the history of the seminary. The sto
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Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 22: Self
They were informed of the coming test a week to its arrival: The Test of self.No information was given, not a single detail was offered by anyone. The older children claimed it was different for each person. But one thing they all had in common was the fact that they all seemed reluctant to talk of it, and always seemed saddened by the memory it seemed to summon.Priestess Emeril had added a new regime to their training with the introduction of throwing knives. She hung a piece of wood from a high point and let it dangle, expecting them to hit the mark on the wood. As expected Sethlzaar proved himself the best, hitting the mark more times than his brothers."Do not strike at where it is, but at where it will be," she told them. It was similar to what Father Karnamis had taught them in hunting animals in the wild. They weren't always in place when hunted. Sometimes they would have to chase their prey and put it dow
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 23: A Shattered Throne
The hall back was long, demarcated by constantly repeating archways that went on forever.It was new to Sethlzaar, and he had no memory of ever being in this part of the seminary. In fact, neither was the room he had stepped out of. But what caught his attention was the ever present mist that spanned the floor, covering it so that his feet disappeared beneath it. He was surprised it hadn't overrun the seminary.The test had taken up the whole day, but the darkness proved more of a shock. The night was pitch black, without star or moon.Sethlzaar increased his pace and soon found himself in a panicked run as the darkness seemed to chase him. The archway went on forever, heralding something new with each passing. The mist rose above the ground. It wetted the calves of his trousers, and crawled up his knees.Then he heard it. The growl, accompanied by the sound of paws on the ground.
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 24: To Keep A Secret
A month after the test of self they grew out of their induced silence. Sethlzaar, growing out of his earlier, maintained the silence not to offend his brothers.The month saw him awake at night to the sounds of cries and sudden night terrors, and the occasional creaking consolation of Soartin or Canabi's bed. Surprisingly, the darkness visited his dreams the least now. Notwithstanding, their training continued under the priests, their performance showing obvious progress, though tainted by whatever haunted them; residues of the test.It was a month and two weeks after the test that a new dread haunted them. Everyone had grown out of the test and returned to their daily lives, but Canabi always seemed to pretend to have grown out of his. Sethlzaar often caught him staring at nothing, lost in thoughts as they engaged in friendly banter before they were required to put out the light.One night, while returning from his esca
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 25: A Noble Art
Ordan led Sethlzaar through the keep, and Sethlzaar, knowing the path, understood exactly where they were headed.Priestess Emeril was present in The Monsignor's chamber when they entered, and Sethlzaar had no preconceived notion of what was to transpire.Shrowl sat at his seat with the same blank expression and piercing eyes Sethlzaar knew him for, saying nothing as he leafed through the book before him. The books had grown in numbers since the last time Sethlzaar was here, and the three swords stared at him from their place behind the Monsignor."VI Sorlan," Shrowl finally addressed him after a period that seemed to go on for too long. "Priestess Emeril believes you have a talent with the bow. And she should know; she has a talent with it herself."Sethlzaar offered no response.As if disappointed at his absence of response, Genebac Shrowl sighed. He rubbed aging fingers agains
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 26: Like Riding The Wind
Sethlzaar woke in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat. Making his way out of the tent, he strolled around, finally coming upon a flame where a few adults were gathered, amongst whom was Sister Emeril, drinking and laughing and sharing tales.Avoiding detection, he wandered into the forest, finding a more serene and encompassing silence. Unlike the Seminary, where the silence seemed dead, this one seemed very much alive, almost as though it stayed awake with him. So alive did it seem that he felt he could hear it should he listen closely enough. Satisfied with his escape, he returned just in time to find Emeril asleep in the tent, wrapped only in a blanket, her curves evident. He found himself lost in its hypnotism with every slight movement she made in her slumber.Before dawn he made his way to the smithy in time to catch the blacksmith opening it. Making his way inside, Sethlzaar found his wood and blade unmoved from where he had left them.As the sun climbed to its peak, it f
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 27: The Boy Who Failed To Protect
Unlike their journey from the seminary, their journey back was eventful, filled with conversations and laughter, something Sethlzaar knew would end the moment they arrived at the seminary.From the moment they walked through the portcullis Sethlzaar found himself looking around for any sign of his mates as they made their way to the Monsignor's chambers. The meeting was brief and he was made to leave behind his metal bow, the last words of the Monsignor to him as he left being: "You are not a first bow till the day you become a priest of the seminary. And speak what you have seen to no one."...Maybe because you look like you have a lot of secrets, Canabi's words replayed in Sethlzaar's head, and he couldn't help but think secrets would make up the most of his lifeSethlzaar's mates welcomed him with a flurry of back claps and cheers save Cenam who had saved him a full and complete hug. Narvi, on the other hand,
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Valerik’s Quest 4: A Village In The South
The breeze brushed against his skin. The atmosphere, hot as the sun made it, did nothing to dry the sweat that soaked more than his face. The dry air grated at his nostrils with each intake of air and his lungs expelled them with a labor telling of their hate for it. They were clearly not designed for these parts of Ayla.Valerik rode through the dry and dusty lands of the southern villages of Umunari, far beyond the borders of the realm. This had been one of the reasons he had chosen the class of evangelist prior to his ordination. Scouring the reaches of Ayla, he met peoples he had not known existed. He doubted any other evangelists had gone as far from the realm as he had without express orders from the church.Rive picked up dust with each step but Valerik ignored it, knowing his destination lay not too far from where he was. He had passed through the village twice before, but then, he had stayed a full year. Today, however, he would onl
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Valerik’s Quest 5: He From Whom Time Continues To Run
The child ran to Valerik and wrapped her arms around his neck. There she dangled till he held her. If the child had screamed any louder he would have needed to check his ears."Be quiet!" Okola chided the girl. "Your voice very loud!"Valerik settled the girl on the floor and she let him go. He looked down at the girl and she beamed back. It was strangely prideful to see how much she'd grown in the time he'd last seen her. She had only been seven when he'd met her."Dimma," he said. "How are you?""I'm fine. I've missed you." She spoke the realm tongue more fluently than Okola, and Valerik had a feeling that though he spent the better part of eleven months teaching it to her, her retained fluency in it was credited to the elder.Dimma had been the reason he'd crossed paths with the chief priest. He had met the girl in his last visit, a touched, which was rare in the village
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Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Epilogue
Darkness has never truly been a thing of worry here. Basically, it’s most often dark here. Most of us don’t like it, but time is enough to make anyone adapt to it. Still, it’s not like we have much of an option. Wether it’s dark or bright or generally colorless, it wouldn’t matter, this is the life we live. We would claim we didn’t choose it, that it chose us. But I’ll be honest, we chose it as much as it chose us. Every action we ever took has led us here; at least all the actions I ever took led me here.
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 112: The Bloodless Night
Maekil snapped his finger in recognition. “Yes,” he almost exclaimed. “The Shadow Child of the Conisoir. Even the Lords employ it to scare their children from bad deeds.” He placed a finger to his bottom lip in puzzlement. “Although, yours is different. Why is that?”“Because it is the true tale.”“And you believe this
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 111 :Maekil
Red wine twirled within a transparent cup made of glass and fashioned for the simple and unnecessary sake of aesthetics. By Truth, Maekil never could understand the desire to be pleasing to the eye. Perhaps it was because all his life he had been nothing but pleasing to the eye, perhaps it was not. He dropped the cup without taking a sip.He would only taste of the wine when the night was over and the morning greeted him with the light of the sun. Normally this wasn’t the case: not in his manor.
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Valerik's Quest 12: The Incarnate
Valerik came awake screaming and gasping. His cassock was soaked in sweat and a terror grasped at his heart as he cried into arms that held him with so much untainted love. But somethings were greater than others and he knew that no love or hate or indifference could triumph over the terror that held him.“What’s wrong, father?” a voice asked.He knew who
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Valerik's Quest 11: By Your Fear You Shall Know Him
Valerik opened his eyes from his slumber, instinct propelled to reach across him to ensure he bow still lay where he’d left it last night when he’d bedded down for the night. The bow was the livelihood of his people. A man with no knowledge of where his bow lay at all times was a failure of a man. Assured it was where he’d left it, he rose from the ground to a sitting position and watched the man who sat on the log on the other side of a fire that was nothing but ash. No doubt it had fizzled out sometime during the night, considering no one had paid it any attention.
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 110: Ayla Will Mourn
Sethlzaar blinked the darkness away, but he might as well have waved away the air. Unable to see, he sat up with ease. The floor was covered in grass and served as a soft bed to his rump, so much so that he hesitated to rise to his feet. But he did.Around him was overshadowed in a familiar darkness, and when he took a step forward he frowned at the sight before him.A rub
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 109: The Wars Of Men
They couldn’t afford to let the fight drag on. But if there were no wisps, how could he change its course? If Berlak evaded him at every turn, how could they turn the tide? The answer came to him as quickly as the question. There’s more you can do in the dark.Stepping forward, he moved his hand in as he spun from the cover of Cenam’s back to oppose Berlak. The god turned away from his attack easily, striking a closed fist against the flat of Cenam’s veil.
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 108: Nothing Is Impossible
Sethlzaar saw the moment the fight was decided. The climax to the torrential build up. Cenam swung the veil in his left hand. A downward stroke designed to take his enemy’s head. Berlak reacted as fast as the stroke itself, his longsword striking the veil from Cenam’s grip, taking away the priest’s advantage. But Sethlzaar had seen such decisions before. Cenam had intended it. The strike, although intended to take the man’s head, had never truly been expected to. Not a feint. A sacrifice.Cenam’s second ve
Aegis of the Immortal: Blood Blessed Chapter 107: May His Grace Keep Us Where Our Strength Fails
The war raged on within the city walls, though the carnage was not as depressing within as it was without. Sethlzaar carried himself in a full sprint, his previously perceived fatigue ebbing away at the touch of darkness as he followed where Cenam led. Bratvi kept pace beside him and paid no obvious attention to his broken wrist. One thing was certain; even if the Most Reverend could fight, it would be impossible to use both veils.There was no doubt that those who had given the once mythical city of Arlyn its reigning title had never stepped foot within its walls. Still, there wa
