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?!
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
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
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
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
A wild wind swept through the empty streets of Alandria.It howled past the adventurers guild and shook the trinket and magical wares stalls in their housings.To the untrained eye, the city would seem abandoned. Wiped out by the encroaching scourge that had taken the lives of so many others.But to those that knew the customs of the Drasini Kingdom, the truth was far more exciting.The wind wound on, converging through the waterway streets on the island town square where the ceremony was well underway.The Initiates sat in a wide semi-circle, their robed bodies swaying with the wind as the administrar at the centre finished his chant.The people of the city watched from windows and balconies with bated breath as the first of the Initiates rose up from their kneeling position.These Initiates would go on to become the Vanguard. The first line of defence in the coming battle. Like many Initiates from across the Kingdom, they would likely be dead by the end of the year.The Initiate set
Alexei didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, he was overjoyed that he didn't have to go and fight on the front lines. Like every other Initiate, he had heard the stories of the death and destruction that happened out on the front. It was said that 90% of all Initiates didn't survive the first few days of their first tour, as the forces that the Demon Lord had amassed were just too powerful to be overcome by most people's weapons and abilities. If he had been sent out to fight he would have been one of that 90% statistic for sure. On the other hand, though, Alexei was distraught. He had been chosen to come to the city as the best fighter of anyone in his village. Though considering how small his village was, maybe that hadn't quite been the achievement he had thought at the time. Either way, being chosen to join the Royal Defence Corps had been an honor, both for his family and his town. If he returned there now… No, he couldn't return there. That was out of the question e
With his bag of coins weighing his pocket down, and his heavy heart weighing down his chest, Alexei pulled up his hood and stalked through the dark streets of Alandria.In the middle of the day, the city was one of the marvels of the Drasini kingdom.Built in the middle of a vast lake Alandria was Drasini's floating fiefdom, controlled by the Archduke Kartra as a vassal of the Drasini Kingdom's royal decree.While most cities had dirt lining their city's roads where carts could freely be pulled by terra-drakes Alandria had waterways where boats would ferry goods and people too and fro.With the sunlight glinting off the waters and people bustling about it was one of the most beautiful places in all of the kingdom.In the quiet of the night, it was instead an ominous and foreboding place.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 i