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CHAPTER 14
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Sunbringer
As 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 how
and 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
Sunbringer CHAPTER 16
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
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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
Sunbringer CHAPTER 19
Present timeShieena sobbed softly. They were sitting in the living room of the safe house and Nio had just finished this part of the story. Shieena tried to imagine life in a dark pit for seven long years, but she couldn't. Her suffering and captivity, it all paled in comparison to Nio’s prison. How he managed to get out of it all without going completely crazy was inconceivable to her. Even Jon had a tear or two rolling down his cheeks. Shieena touched Nio's hand and he smiled at her."It's okay, little Shieena, I'm fine. It was bad, but I'm fine now. I still have my sanity. Most of the time.": he said with a sad smile.Lara was there too. She didn't know the whole story, but the part she had just heard stunned her. This elf was a bomb that could explode at any time. He said he wasn't crazy, but Lara wasn't quite sure. Crazy people don’t always act like crazy. She had to send a message to lady Sif.Meanwhile, i
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Nio’s storyOne day, Dem announced in his usual rugged and hoarse voice that Nio was ready for the final step. He understood most of the elements well and Dem had only one more thing to teach him. Synergy. It was the purest and most powerful source of magic. Only those who have the ‘all spark’ could perform such magic. Instead of focusing his magic on one element, Nio had to learn how to focus his magic on all of them. It was also the hardest magic to master.He practiced on his surroundings. He focused first on the fire burning in the corner, and then on the small rock protruding from the wall. Then he added a piece of moss. Then a small worm in the ground. It seemed impossible. It was not. Just extremely difficult. As Dem taught him over and over again, Nio found his centre. And a whole new world opened up to him.He felt different energies in all the things around him, and as he focused more and more, something
Sunbringer CHAPTER 21
Present time"After that, you ran into me and saved me, and soon after we saved Jon, right?": Shieena asked."Yes.": Nio replied."Here's what I don't understand:": Jon said, then continued: "What kind of tornado was that? And how did you recover in the well and in the hospital?”Nio hesitated for a moment, then said: “Mhm, I have no idea how I healed myself. Maybe, while I was unconscious, the body remembered and acted. I'm not sure. As for the tornado, I thought about it a lot. Here's what I think. That light I absorbed; I think it was his spark. Dem’s spark. That's what he wanted to do to me. And when I absorbed his spark, the two sparks reacted to each other and kind of melted together. And in that merger, the elements around me went crazy. That's what I think. I could be right. Or not. But that's the best theory I have. Not to mention that after I absorbed his spark, I felt stronger than ever. I mean m
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Jon’s storySouth Malfer is ruled by four lords and each of them is the absolute ruler in his region. All the mines and all the production of arms are in their hands, and every man, in addition to paying the royal tax, must pay taxes and levies to his lord as well. In the region they rule, their word is the law.South Malfer is best known for its weapons production. From iron to steel, every lord in Malfer buys weapons from the four southern lords. Yet, even with huge investments in technology, human weapons cannot be compared to hardened elven silver. And while steel should cut silver without a problem because silver is a soft metal, that’s not the case.Something in the production of hardened silver makes it harder than steel. But the elves keep that secret well.Jon was a young blacksmith from Taras, a village in the south of Malfer, who learned the trade from his father. Most of the time they made ploughs, ho
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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
Sunbringer CHAPTER 31
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
Sunbringer CHAPTER 29
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
Sunbringer CHAPTER 28
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
Sunbringer CHAPTER 26
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
