As Alexei came to he couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit annoyed. He’d only just removed the Nilbog from the presence of his dreams, and now it seemed that the Demon Lord could simply step into them whenever he wanted to. However, there was also something to be happy about in that revelation. The Demon Lord certainly seemed unable to affect him in any meaningful way while they had been in the dreamscape. The evil ruler could pull his spirit to him and push it away again, but as for actual consequences for being brash and consequences for escaping him, well, there had been none. Overall Alexei considered that to be a win. There was something more concerning than the Demon Lord’s presence in his night, anyway, and that was the presence of the dark entity that the Demon Lord’s tapestries had been so fearful of. Alexei hadn’t necessarily believed that such a thing existed, but after hearing its voice for himself there was no denying it. The thing had so much more spiritual
Alexei’s life had fallen into a predictable routine. He woke up in the morning, aching and tired from the day before, and was always slightly disappointed to find that Neave had woken up before him to begin her own day. He would go and shower, and then make his way down to the hall for breakfast. This was usually where he would find Neave tucking into what was still her favourite food, eel kebabs. They would eat their breakfast together and discuss the coming day, in the strange silent way that Neave communicated her thoughts and feelings. After that, he and Neave would go their separate ways again, though they would both end up doing similar things. Learning magery. Neave was with a group of other children who had the gift of high level magery. It wasn’t a large group, and from what Alexei had been told she was one of the most adept in the class. She took to magery like a duck took to water, seemingly understanding it on an instinctual level in a way that the other kids in her
Alexei landed hard on the ground and rolled in the dirt of the sparring arena. He used his momentum to flip himself back onto his feet, but Risa was on him in an instant, with her lightning-based magery flashing around her in arcs of power. She gave him no quarter, lashing out with melee attacks and ranged arcs both at the same time. The attacks forced him to keep on the move, ducking and weaving and swinging with his staff to deflect as many as he could. This was how most of the fights between them had gone since they had returned from the desert two weeks ago. But Alexei had improved a lot over that period of time, and now he was able to hold his own much better. As a punch came in from the right and an arc of electricity came in from the left Alexei stepped toward his attacker and swiftly jabbed upward with his staff, followed by a blast of empowered air that sent Risa careening through the air. He followed his attack up with a trio of empowered water blasts to block off Risa
“So you want to take the fight to the Assassins of Delsi,” Grand Mage Kryte said, it was a statement more than a question. Alexei and Risa had gone to speak to the man and he had silently ushered them into his private offices so that the other members of the Grand Mage council couldn’t overhear their conversation. That had made Alexei curious. “That’s my plan,” Alexei said with a nod, “Though I have to ask, why did you bring us in here? Are you worried about spies?” The grand mage sighed deeply, “Your case is a very complicated one, Alexei. One that threatens war to break out at any moment, just because we are giving you safe harbour here.” Alexei knew this, it was the whole reason Risa wasn’t allowed to help take the Assassins down, and the whole reason he hadn’t gone out there to take out the Assassins himself. “And that means people may be willing to do things that they may not have done before to put an end to the tensions,” Alexei said, “I’m quite aware of the psychology.”
It had been a long time since Alexei had walked the streets of Alandria, and nothing much had changed about the city at night. In the day it was a hustling and bustling area where goods were sold and people enjoyed their time together, but as the moon rose and the sun fell it became a much darker feeling place altogether. The night was almost identical to the one that he had left the Academy on. The water of the lake lapped gently at the underside of the pontoons that made up the city and the boats that were tied to their moorings. Moonlight glinted on the still surface, serving as the only illumination in the darkened streets. If it had been a cloudy night there would have been no light at all. Back then he had only heard rumours of people who had met a murky end on a dark and cloudy night at the bottom of the lake, but he himself had cast someone to the depths, and there was no doubt that their body was down there even now, bloated and trapped as the eels feasted on his distend
Three Weeks Ago - Lyla poured another flagon of homebrew ale, their most popular drink and all made in house, for one of her locals. “Here yah go Sil, enjoy,” She said with a smile on her face before going back to slowly towelling off cups that she had washed in the sink. Things had been quiet ever since Alexei had left the Trout’s Gills to go off and join the Mage Temple, but if she was completely honest, quiet was how she enjoyed things. Quiet meant that her punters could come in for a pint after a hard day's graft on the waterways and wet their lips on her ale, which meant more coin for her. She did have to admit, though, that she missed the bloke. He brought an air of excitement and change about him, when Alexei was around the air fizzed with the promise of adventure. She sighed and set the glass that she was working on down. It wasn’t that Lyla didn’t like working in and owning the Trout’s Gills, she did. It was one of the best choices she’d ever made and the fact that s
“So you’re saying one of the assassins ended up here?” Alexei asked, “Just eating stew and asking about me?” Lyla nodded, “I think so, anyway.” Alexei wasn’t happy about it, but at the very least it made sense. The first duo of assassins had almost definitely been in contact with the Administrar and had no doubt told the man that they had tracked him down to the Trout’s Gills. After that the Administrar had no doubt told the new pair that piece of information. What it meant was that the Trout’s Gills wasn’t really the safe haven that he had previously considered it to be, though really he didn’t have anywhere better to go. It wasn’t like he was going to go running to the lion beastkin Christopher for safe harbour, that wouldn’t fly, he was an old man with a business to protect. “You better not be thinking of leaving us and going off on your own,” Lyla said, almost as if she had been reading his mind. “It’d be safer for the both of you,” Alexei said, “You’ve done so much for me
A layer of mist hung above the waters of the boatyards in the crisp morning air. Summer had truly ended in the city of Alandria, and now that the heat was receding and the clouds had rolled in, the city had become a much quieter place. While it was a capital, and to a degree was always busy, Alandria thrived in the summer moreso than any other time of year. People from across the kingdom, and some from beyond, came to visit the cities waterways. There was a reason it was called the jewel of the kingdom, after all. The added level of quietness was perfect for Alexei, he didn’t want anyone else getting caught up in the fight that was inevitably going to unfold. The boatyards sat on the opposite side of the lake that the Mage Temple was located, closer to the mouths of the rivers that fed it. It allowed the workers of the boatyard to both store boats at their pontoons and build new ones at their work yards. The work yards were what Alexei was most interested in. There were stacks
After his last encounter with the Proto Lord Alexei had never wanted to hear the hoarse croaking laughter of the creature ever again. Now that he had the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms were all standing to attention and every fiber of his being was telling him to flee, run as far away as he could, and never look back. But he couldn’t do any of that. He had a mission to complete, people to save, and a kingdom to protect. “Show yourself, Proto Lord!” Alexei called out, his staff held defensively in preparation to ward off any attacks, “I’m not the man you faced before, I’ll take you out myself this time.” “So you say,” The Proto Lord wheezed from somewhere in the dark, “And yet you still bring so many users of the Power Divine to fight alongside you. So many snacks for me to feast upon.”That was the final straw for Alexei. With a pulse of arcane power, Alexei slammed his staff down onto the ground. A sphere of light erupted out from where he stood, a magery spell desi
Nerves had seeped into the hearts of the men that Alexei and Harold had chosen to take with them into the underground sanctum of the Proto Lord the moment they took their first steps into the tunnel system that the creature had made its home. They all looked to be strong and full of heart, but Alexei could sense it. The fear was electric and it was all he could do not to get caught up in the worry himself. Instead, he drew his staff and allowed it to shift forms into that of a magery wand, perfect to be used in enclosed situations and easier to maneuver with so many bodies around. With a flex of his will, Alexei summoned a ball of light at the tip of the wand and sent it out ahead of the group. It illuminated the dank depths of the tunnel that they were slowly descending into. Once upon a time, Alexei could have imagined the tunnel being used for mining and most likely to serve as a lower down access port to the well that he had originally sensed the malaise of the Proto Lord seep
As Alexei explained what the Proto Lord was to Harold and the other members of the Royal Defence Corps he could tell that their willingness to fight such a creature was waning further and further. Alexei could understand. After being told to go to the front line and expecting to die in combat defending the kingdom the shades had all disappeared. That had given them all a second chance at living. Being told that they instead had to fight a being that was well on its way to becoming the next Demon Lord? Something that, just like the shades, could kill you and then perhaps use you to fight the rest of your friends? That wasn’t something that a lot of people were keen on. Harold, though, was a brave man and always had been. “Very well,” He said as Alexei came to the end of his explanation, “If that is the case then this so-called Proto Lord must fall before the Proto part of the wretched thing's name becomes Demon instead.“I will not order anyone to join myself or Alexei in this f
Alexei placed his hand onto the Warp Gate and sent a pulse of magery through the system. He’d never actually had to operate one of the things before, but thanks to his more innate relationship with magery it was a bit like opening a book and simply reading from the pages. He placed his palm onto the stone and it fed information directly to him and allowed him to open a temporary link between the gate he was standing next to and the gate that was back in Alandria. It opened with a sputter at first and then, as Alexei made the link between the gates more solid, it blazed into life with a swirling blue glow. “You really are full of surprises now, aren’t you,” Harold said with a shake of his head, he couldn’t believe how different his friend had become compared to the last time he had seen the man. “Just a bit of advanced magery,” Alexei shrugged, “What did you expect me to do when I got kicked out of the Academy, go become a merchant somewhere?”“That probably would have been the sm
Alexei worked his way through the woods until he was able to catch up with the soldiers of the Royal Defence Corps. These were all men and women who had gone through the training at the Academy and come out the other end, each of them with a Power Divine powerful enough for the previous Demon Lord to want to absorb it. Perfect for fighting against a Proto Lord who hadn’t fully come into the powers that Eldreth was offering them. At first, Alexei wasn’t sure who he should approach, but then he noticed someone who looked just a little bit familiar. Without any doubts, Alexei was sure the man he saw walking in the centre of the column was none other than his old friend from the Academy, Harold. “Harold!” He exclaimed, “Is that you?” The column of marching soldiers froze instantly, like a rabbit caught in the path of an oncoming dragonhorse, before turning on Alexei with their powers at the ready. It took only a moment for Harold to realise who had called out to him. “A… Alexei?!
“Okay, wish me luck you two,” Alexei said, he was standing in front of a Warp Gate, one that Risa had told him led to a town that was very close to the front. Neave wrapped her arms around him as best she could and he returned it by holding her close. “You better come back safely, yeah?” Risa said, she held his gaze with a stern look. “Hey, if the Shades are running wild then you have my promise that I’ll be jumping right back into that Warp Gate,” Alexei said, “This is a recon mission, nothing more nothing less. Promise.”She gave him a critical eye, “You know, every time you’ve ever said that you’re just going to look at something or do a bit of recon you’ve come super close to dying.” “Yeah, but those times I had no idea what I was going into, this time it’s either going to be one of two things, and only one of those two things could actually be dangerous. Pretty good odds if you ask me,” Alexei said with a grin, though he could tell he was only annoying Risa with his banter.
Waking up in the morning Alexei realised that, despite everything that was going on, he actually felt pretty good. Not only was the threat of the Demon Lord technically dealt with, he’d also met with the Administrar and had basically engineered a situation where the man would no longer be able to send people after him. All things said and done, that was two of his major problems dealt with already, even if he did still plan to get his revenge on the Administrar in one way or another. The man couldn’t be allowed to continue in his post, not after he had sacrificed so many Initiates to the Shade Front for no good reason. When everything had concluded and everyone was safe, Alexei intended to go to the Royal Household and speak to the Emperor, perhaps he would listen to reason, if Alexei could get an audience with the man of course. Alexei pulled himself out of bed, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked off to the shower room. He shivered as the cold water streamed onto his
“So, let me get this straight,” Lyla said, “You’re going all the way to the front to maybe take on a massive Shade Army that you have no hope of actually fighting against just in case they’ve gone wild now that the Demon Lord is actually properly dead.” It was a pretty succinct way of explaining the situation, but Alexei was glad that Lyla had grasped the broad strokes of what was going on. “Yeah, pretty much,” Alexei shrugged, “Though I have a feeling that it’s not going to be nearly as bad as you’ve just made it sound. In fact, I think it’s going to be a wasted trip, but a necessary one just in case.” “A wasted trip?” Lyla asked. “Well, after first meeting the Demon Lord and being given a sliver of his powers I’ve always been able to sort of… you know, sense them,” Alexei said, “Just as a kind of dark fuzz off to the eastern border. Can’t feel that anymore.” “What, as in they’re just gone?” “That’s what it feels like, yeah,” Alexei said, “It feels like the Demon Lord had one l
While Alexei had made it seem as if he were going to be running off to the front lines as fast as he could, there was one thing that he needed to take care of before he left Alandria again. He was sure that if he left the city without at least swinging by The Trout’s Gills at least once then Lyla would have probably ripped his head off with her inhuman beastkin strength. Once again Alexei was struck by a distinct sense of de ja vu. The day had receded into night, with the final glimmers of the twilight sun just about peaking over the very top of the mountain. It was dark, and the streets of Alandria had drawn to a near-empty silence. The only thing that guided his way was the lamplight from the many torches that hung off of the sides of various buildings. The water lapped at the underside of boats and barges alike, and he knew that somewhere deep down under the water there was the body of the very first assassin that he had dealt with, now likely stripped of flesh to the bone by