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CHAPTER 10
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Nio’s story
Nio was a spirited boy. Growing up in the countryside he had a whole world to explore and experience. Like any curious boy, he often got himself in trouble. When he was four, he couldn’t understand why chickens from their coop don’t fly. All the birds were flying. He tried to help them by throwing the smaller ones into the air, but to no avail. In his little brain, he concluded that they needed more room for take-off. One early morning he snuck out of the house and opened the chicken coop door. The chickens stayed inside. Nio pushed them into the garden and then to the nearest meadow. It was a slow and time-consuming task, but the boy persisted.
An hour later, his mother found him in the meadow. Nio's face was wet with tears and distorted with frustration. Not a single hen even tried to take off. His mother took him in her arms and comforted him, explaining to him that chickens could not fly. Not everyone was
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Present timeAfter a welcome break it was time to continue the journey. The plan was simple. Go west to the border with Canestor and then seek transportation in one of the dwarven airships. It was the only way to get to their kingdom. Nio proposed an alternate plan. With his magic, he would pave the way through the mountains to the first underground entrance to the dwarf kingdom. Jon rolled his eyes in disbelief and Shieena called him an idiot. Nio’s plan was firmly rejected.After a heartfelt farewell with Siumun and Liendara, they mounted their freshly acquired horses and left. One of the last things his aunt told him was to look after Shieena. The little she-goblin won her heart.It took them four long weeks to reach the western border of Velas and Canestor. Shieena was not used to riding so they had to move at a much slower pace for the first week. But they had plenty of time to talk.Nio talked about his childhood
Sunbringer CHAPTER 12
Nio’s storyHis stay at the academy was not without problems. Unfortunately for him, his cousin Teria’n attended the same academy. And Teria’n used every opportunity to insult and abuse the boy. With no father and grandfather in sight, Teria'n could do whatever he wanted. Whether it was a brutal comment or a kick in the ass, Teria’n and his sly group of wealthy thugs made Nio’s life difficult. But Nio couldn't fight back. Lower staff were not allowed to talk or communicate with students in any way. That would mean immediate dismissal. Nio used the only possible solution available to him. He avoided them as best he could.However, his cousin's bullying also had a positive side. While all the other boys and girls in the academy laughed and even cheered as Teria’n tortured him, one girl did not. Her name was Thea and to Nio she was the most beautiful creature in all of Raal. She was the same age as him, se
Sunbringer CHAPTER 13
Present time"So now we know.": Jon said, trying to find a comfortable position in one corner of the stable.Shieena shivered and crawled deeper under the covers.She looked at Jon and replied: “I don’t think so. Yes, they threw him in the well, but it's just a well. Even if it was pretty deep, he obviously survived. And remember what Liendara said, she said -I know what those kids did to you and we thought you were dead-. Didn't anyone check the fucking well? What? Oh, he fell into a well, yes, he's dead. Let's move on. And I mean, okay, they did what they did, but kill them for it? I don't understand. I can understand that Nio hates them, but you saw him. Every time he mentions their names, it’s not just hatred in his eyes. It's ... I have no word for it. Hate, agony, pain. He hunts them all over Raal. Why? And those scars on him, there's no way you're going to get something like that by falling. And then, there
Sunbringer CHAPTER 14
SunbringerAs Nio travelled toward Canestor, he was unaware of the chaos he had created after breaking the magic bubble around Raal. After so much time the sun was moving again. In a split second, he changed something that most thought was immutable. The lands immersed in darkness were again pampered by the warm rays of the sun and people who had never seen the night were greeted by new and wondrous colours of the sunrise.After the initial shock and fear, and once the sky did not fall, the creatures in Raal began to adapt to the new situation. But Raal's rulers were not happy. At first, they didn’t know howand why this happened, whether the spell had finally faded or there was some new force they had to deal with. Or maybe an old force with a new weapon. No, they were not happy at all. The spy networks dug tirelessly, trying to find the culprit or culprits for the new situation, but failed.The high council of the elve
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Present timeJon was worried about Shieena. He kept bothering Nioob about the goblin's welfare and she tried her best to convince him nothing in quarantine would happen to her. A goblin was considered property, and to harm someone’s property meant compensation. No dwarf wanted to part with his wallet. But Jon was not comforted. As Nio searched the market for information about Larin, Jon devised plans to free Shieena from dwarven hands. Lara was nowhere in sight.Five days after arriving in Canestor, Nio had no clue to Larin’s whereabouts. He was sitting in Nioob’s living room, sulking. Jon was on the sofa, devising another plan to free Shieena. Nioob brought tea and sat with them, quiet but curious. Nio was a few years younger than her, but she could not for the life of her see him as some all-powerful terrifying sorcerer. At this point, he looked more like a petulant child. But Lara was never wrong.She wondered
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Nio’s storyHe was falling. His instincts kicked in and he desperately tried to grab the walls of the well. But there was nothing to grab. The interior of the well was smooth and flat. He closed his eyes and waited for the end. But the end did not come. He just kept falling and falling. He could not see anything and the well seemed to have no end.At first his body pounded against the walls, leaving him with more and more bruises, but after a while the well got wider. Even his fall began to slow. The air was much denser and unusually threatening.Nio tried not to think about Thea, but his broken heart just couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened, over and over again. He didn't understand. She loved him; he knew she loved him. And yet she killed him. Smiling.He felt a change in the air and something clawed at his leg. He felt a sharp pain and blood gushed from the newly formed wound. He tried to hit his at
Sunbringer CHAPTER 17
Present time"AND? Who was he?”: Jon asked impatiently.Just as Nio was about to answer, the carriage that drove them to the capital stopped. A young dwarf stepped inside informing them that they had arrived. Nio’s story was cut short. Under cover of darkness, they entered the house and quickly hid in the attic. The young dwarf who drove them here told them to be quiet and wait. They did just that. A few hours later Lara arrived and the plan was set in motion.Nio was hidden in an empty barrel of wine, then driven, rolled, carried, and finally deposited in the basement of the palace. He didn't like this part of the plan. The inside of the barrel smelled horribly and he felt dizzy from the intense smell of wine. All the rolling didn't help either. After all the shaking and carrying stopped, a female dwarf knocked twice on the barrel and opened it. The dwarf, who introduced herself as Ia, showed him once again the bluepri
Sunbringer CHAPTER 18
Nio’s storyNio stared at the gargantuan creature and fear gripped his heart. When he saw his huge hands and claws, he realized that his saviour was also his attacker."Now, now, elf. See? Life is ever so complicated, is it not?”: the creature said almost lazily."You're the one who attacked me, aren't you? But, but why? Why bring me to the brink of death just to save me?”: said Nio, feeling more confused and scared than ever."Ah, I was hungry. And when I felt a fly in the web, I went for it. Since I'm in this hole, hmm, who knows ... One hundred years, five hundred, more ... Time is not something you can keep track of down here. Anyway, I was very, very hungry. And just so you know, you are the one who woke me up. I slept blissfully, then bam, a little tasty elf above me, getting closer and closer.”: the creature responded with a big grin on its face.The monster had two curved black horns on
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Present timeBefore they headed back for their base, Nio healed the wounded. There were a lot of them. He ordered them to be left on the battlefield and healed them all in one fell swoop. Friends and foes alike. He didn’t have much experience with healing and life magic, but he instinctively knew what to do. His exercise in the hidden valley taught him so much about synergy that he felt that the smaller elements were just toys for children. He reached out and established a balance in each of them. It was that simple. Lately, it seemed to him that he was looking more and more with his mind, not his eyes. Everything around him was just energy. Like when you try to make out the trees in the distance from the bottom of a waterfall. Due to the sheer amount of water you can’t actually see the trees, just the shapes. Still, you know they're there. And you know what they look like. The sh
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Velas north hubQueen Nioob paced up and down the room. The first meeting with lady Sif was successful. Not only did she agree to provide safe passage through her lands, but she offered her elves to move food to Mui land. Furthermore, she offered elven supplies and help if needed. Nioob had a strange feeling that if she asked for Sif's dress, she would take it off in front of her and give it to her. She didn't like it. Elves usually did not care about other races. Sif wanted something, something big. No, Nioob didn't like it at all. For a moment she wished Lara was here. Lara always had a flawless nose for lies and deceptions. Nioob was supposed to leave the day after the meeting, but Thea Sif requested another audience. Nioob was sure that Sif would then show her true face. Apprehensive, she waited.The two women met again. After the initial pleasures, lady Sif became direct.Her ton
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Present timeNio met with the war chief of the Mui tribe. There were eleven large lakes and four larger rivers in his lands. His people had by then already received the food from the dwarves and famine had diminished, but those supplies would not last forever. The war chief banned fishing throughout Mui because Nio needed to inspect several live specimens. They reached the first lake surrounded by hundreds of goblins waiting for a miracle. Nio felt a rush of anxiety. He had been very confident in himself until now, but now, as all those goblins watched, his confidence turned to fear. Still, from the outside he remained calm and cool.He approached the shore of the lake and one of the goblins pulled out a fishing net. Within the net were three species of fish and a pair of crabs. He asked the goblin to submerge the net back in the water and ordered everyone around him to move away. Very far a
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High shamanAfter sending shamans to kill Shieena and the other Tei woman, the high shaman retreated to one of the northern temples, out of reach of the southern war chiefs. He now sat in the main room of the temple and listened to the reports. Not only did the shamans fail to kill the women but they botched the auxiliary plan also. Shieena was almost in his grasp but still managed to escape. To make matters worse, one of his would-be assassins pointed the finger at him, publicly. The day really couldn't have been worse. Except it got worse. His shamans were killed and expelled everywhere in the south, and the last straw was the blood feud that targeted him personally.He was furious. The audacity of these simpletons, challenging his spiritual guidance. Northern war chiefs started to gather around him. More simpletons. What he needed was a quick and decisive attack. But looking at thei
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Present timeHe started again with just a crumb of magic. A tiny piece of raw energy danced in front of him, waiting. He reached for it and tried to disassemble it into its original parts. It resisted. Once complete it did not want to cease to exist. Nio tried harder and harder. It seemed so easy that night by the campfire, but without the anger that fuelled it, dismantling the synergy proved to be a difficult task. He threw it on a nearby tree, and the tree was gone. Destruction was easy. He tried again.In the meantime, almost everyone returned to the hideout. Only Ia stayed in Canestor to oversee the transportation of the goods and to wait for their signal, but Jon came back, Lara came back, and Ghtraht came and went. It was obvious to everyone that Shieena and the war chief had grown closer. Even Jon admitted to Nio that he was happy for both of them. He was still a little je
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LaraLara was exhausted. After she arrived at the dwarven hub, she rode day and night to reach the elven capital. The horses were prepared in advance, so she would just jump on a fresh horse and ride on. Her arse was killing her. But she was finally in the elven capital, waiting to be summoned by the most powerful elf in Velas.Lady Sif was sitting at her desk. Lara wondered why the unusual ones always strive for power the most. Thea Sif didn't look like an elf. With slightly darker skin, much shorter in stature than any elf Lara knew, and rich dark hair, she could easily pass for a human. Even her eyes were unusual. Instead of the blue or green eyes that most elves had, hers were brown. She had a perky nose, small and dignified. Her only feature that was typically elven were her ears, long and pointed. And a cold determination in those deceitfully warm eyes. Lara was absolutely
Sunbringer CHAPTER 27
Present timeNight crept towards them. Ghtraht was nowhere in sight so they began to discuss the finer points of his plan. Because Shieena was determined in her decision to marry the war chief, only one problem remained. Nio and the fish.But Jon mentioned another potential problem: “Even if Nio somehow manages to fill their lakes with fish, who says the disease won’t come back? As far as we know, it could still be in the water."Shieena nodded in agreement, but Ia interrupted her: “Actually, I can. And before you cut off my head, let me first say, it all happened during the reign of the old king. Nioob was quite furious when she found out. The king was looking for a way to get rid of the goblins permanently. Nioob told you about the bomb, but that wasn’t the only thing our scientists were developing. Some ten, fifteen years ago, one of our underground la
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TheaThea was nervous. Her plan was unfolding too slowly and she was afraid she was running out of time. Her efforts to build the largest army in Raal were constantly hampered and even thwarted by idiotic sorcerers who did not know their place. Sometimes she wondered if it was all worth it. But then she would look at her son and all doubt would disappear. She would burn entire Raal if it meant her child was safe. Still, she had to do something about the rectors of the academies. If she managed to subdue the members of the high council, a few academic idiots shouldn’t pose a problem. But they did. She was bombarded with their letters, over and over again, demanding an explanation of her need for so many of their students in the Velas army. And then yesterday the bastards banded together, refusing to give more of their students. She had killed so many elves who had opposed her in recent y
Sunbringer CHAPTER 25
Present timeAs they mounted their horses, Jon suggested a replacement plan: “Maybe we could start asexual revolution. Teach goblins about sex. Once they get to know the pleasures of the body,they may be preoccupied with sex and stop fighting the dwarves.”Nio and Shieena laughed, but Ia and Lara looked confused. Getting the green light fromShieena, he set out to explain to the two women about goblins and sex. It could have been alonger conversation, but at that moment a large goblin emerged from the bushes and blockedtheir way.He was big for a goblin. His olive body was mottled with red paint, and half of his face waspainted black. Unlike most goblins, he had a full set of hair, shaved at the sides and tied in athick, long braid. Even his hair had red streaks of paint on top. He held an impressive weaponin his right hand. And a very unusual weapon for a goblin. It looked
