Ash. The Legends of the Nameless World. Progression Gamelit Story by Kirill Klevanski (essential reading .txt) 📗

“Thank you again!” Ash waved his hand as Gerda walked away back into the house.

Lari was shaking with anger. He had not forgiven him for putting the entire squad in danger. Most importantly, he’d never forgive him for endangering that which was dearest to him—Alice. He didn’t dare imagine what would happen if she died and he never got to pet her chestnut curls or see her warm smile again.

“That’s why you left your post?” Mary asked, arching her eyebrows. She couldn’t believe that it was possible for someone to be so irresponsible. “Because of doughnuts?”

“Of course not!” Ash protested. Mary’s eyes lit up with hope. “Lodging isn’t free, I had to repay old Gerda somehow. So I decided to help her and chop up some firewood.”

The flicker of hope faded away as soon as it lit up. Mary wanted to go back in time and give herself a good trashing. The only reason they forced themselves to put up with this idiot was because they were desperate.

“We paid for the night!”

“Yeah, with coin.” Ash shrugged. “What good is that to an old woman?”

“That’s not our problem!” Lari butted in. “You risked your squad’s life for the sake of some... some... Ernite!”

Silence fell on the clearing. Lari, realizing what he had just said, turned pale and began to look around, hoping that no one had heard him. Unfortunately, people did hear and were now looking at him with reproach. Even Alice, the sweet and kind Alice, furrowed her brows and pressed her lips into a thin line.

“How do you know that you’re not an Ernite?” Ash asked, looking somewhat thoughtful.

“I... I...”

“Can you feel? Do you yearn? Dream? Love? Hate? I don’t want to upset you, but the Ernites do the same. As well as all those that have a heart.”

“I know that I’m a Ternite!” Lari flared up.

“Perhaps you’ve been lied to. Perhaps everything around you is just an illusion of a skilled heretic. How’re you different from an Ernite then?”

Lari wanted to say something, but couldn’t. Turning pale, he pulled a knife from his belt and ran the blade across his palm. His blood, like that of any Ternite, flickered slightly.

“What are you doing?!” Alice exclaimed in fright and rushed toward him.

But just as she was about to use her strongest healing Words, Lari moved away. He didn’t just take a step toward Ash but just about flew over to him and slapped him in the face so hard that the latter fell to the ground again, spitting blood. Lari would’ve hit him again had Tul and Blackbeard not held him back.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Mary yelled, almost breathing fire, as she switched her gaze between Lari and Ash. For the first time since their meeting, the argument became violent. “You’ll both pay a fee from your own coin purses and add it to the squad fund.” Her eyes ablaze, she turned to Lari. “What the hell, man?”

“I,” Lari mumbled. “I don’t know...”

Mary rolled her eyes and sighed wearily. How could an experienced swordsman like him allow himself to fall for tricks and taunts of a childish mage? That one was a mystery for the archivists of the Royal Library.

“Guys,” Tul called. He was standing at the edge of the clearing and waving his hand. Each time he’d try to take a step forward, he’d encounter a thin barrier woven from fiery threads. The flames seemed to be preventing him from leaving the area. “Are we trapped again?”

Blackbeard cleared his throat. “If I’m not mistaken, this is the Circle of the Elements.” He looked at Ash who was wiping blood off his busted lip. “Can you make Circles?”

“Huh?” the young wizard asked after a while, having not realized that the shield-bearer was addressing him. “I can... I learned about it... I think I can, yes.”

Mary’s hand greeted her face with a loud smack for the second time that morning. This man would take her to her grave faster than any monster.

Circle of the Elements was one of the most complicated spells known to the Archivists. It allowed the Ternites that served the king to protect an area without having to keep watch as no one could enter or leave it for a good couple of hours.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked although she already knew the answer.

“Um... I forgot...” Ash shrugged.

Counting to ten and muttering a calming mantra to herself, Mary shot him a glare.

“You two will shake hands and apologize to one another,” she almost growled. “You’ll also put a part of your reward into the squad fund and we’ll forget that this incident ever happened. Is that clear?”

Ash sprang to his feet and held out his hand with a careless smile. Lari frowned, switching his gaze between him and Mary. He still looked ready to fight and clearly wasn’t up to forgetting or forgiving anything.

“Lari,” Mary warned.

Looking at the rest of the squad, he saw Alice’s frown and felt his heart sink. Sighing, he turned back to Ash and shook his head. The mage, still smiling, returned the handshake. Grimacing, Lari yanked out his hand from his, turned on his heel, and walked away.

“Saddle the horses,” Mary ordered. Ash shuddered and turned pale. “We’re going to Zadastra.”

Ash felt all the blood drain from his face. Shuddering, he turned around and went to the stables, her words ringing in his mind.

“We’re going to Zadastra.”

Chapter 25

8th of Amir, 311 A.D., Middle Kingdom, Mystria

T he sound of thundering drums made the frightened mothers hide their children behind their backs and men grab anything that could serve them as a weapon. Here, in the heart of the Middle Kingdom, one could no longer hear the echoes of war — the soldiers