The Harukian Chronicler - Chapter 21

Well, here I am again, in the forge to check up on Gaotha and see how the Aero spirit is doing. It has been a couple of days since the Hopper incident, and luckily for me I was able to figure out how to talk away two of them missing. Nihls asked about the missing ones, it seems he enjoyed the colors of them; their color reminded him of Mama’s eyes. I guess I could see as to why he would make that comparison, though I would not be so bold as to tell her that her eyes were the same color as a bug.

There was also another reason as to why I was here… as I look down at the new child that has awoken in here. This one looks like a vaguely humanoid shape with no legs, and hovering arms near its torso; and entirely made of floating rocks. It’s glowing yellow eyes compliment the yellowed moss that is growing on the rocks;

“Why have I been awakened from the terra from which I sleep… do you wish to make a contract with the likes of me? I can see that you have an Aero spirit already, are you being greedy?” The Terra spirit looks up at me, as Gaotha sits on the table and stares down at the spirit from its opposite element…

“You should hold your tongue Terra spirit, as you do slander a member of my family here. I don’t know why the forge owner has awoken you, as Terra is a slow element, doesn’t like to be awake… and does not appear to have any manners.” Gaotha glares and spits venom with its words. Guess the books from Father were correct, opposing elements do not like each other, though there’s only an issue when you summon uncontracted spirits into your forge of opposing elements. Since Gaotha is contracted, then there shouldn’t be any fighting at this time.

“Aero spirit, keep your tongue. The forge owner and I have business to discuss, why don’t you go make yourself useful.” The Terra spirit spits its own venom back at Gaotha, both are currently giving me a headache. I rub my head slightly at the two who are continuing to argue as I begin to look around my forge until they are done. There do seem to be a few more books in the bookshelves now; perhaps as my knowledge grows so does my library… and it’s odd that the forge has what looks to be a closed off hallway. Maybe Mala will know more about this…

As I am about to ask, I turn to see Gaotha and the Terra spirit continuing to have their argument, and as both seem about to attack… chains quickly surround both of them and keep them in their places. Both appear to be shocked as a wall crumbles to the side of the room, and Baal walks in with his chains jingling;

<“that is=”” enough=”” of=”” that=”” now…=”” children=”” should=”” behave=”” and=”” keep=”” their=”” mouths=”” shut.”=””> The old demon grabs a chair and takes a seat, cracking his neck, <“you’re both=”” needing=”” to=”” calm=”” down…=”” one=”” is=”” a=”” guest,=”” being=”” rude…=”” the=”” other=”” is=”” a=”” resident,=”” being=”” rude.”=””> Baal licks his lips, <“maybe i=”” should=”” just=”” consume=”” you=”” both…”=””> He does not appear to be kidding with this one, giving a slight growl at the two trembling spirits.

Hannash comes in after that, almost phasing into existence like a wraith or something of the sort; looking at the two spirits and shaking his head;

(“Look at you two, fighting over something as trivial as the source of one’s birth. You should be ashamed.”) As Hann admonishes the two, they look down and appear to be sad that the Patron of Mana itself is giving them a talking to. I kind of find it cute, but at the same time…

“How are you two here?” Looking at Hann and Baal, quirking a brow as I have been in here a few times, and neither have decided to materialize in my forge; “Kind of odd really, are you trying to take over now?” Baal laughs at my obvious joke,

<“not really=”” kid…=”” we=”” exist=”” here=”” in=”” the=”” forge,=”” that’s=”” where=”” the=”” blocked=”” off=”” area=”” is…=”” once=”” you=”” are=”” able=”” to=”” open=”” that…=”” then=”” you=”” can=”” begin=”” to=”” gain=”” more=”” patron=”” abilities.”=””> Baal gives a slight nod, and retracts his chains from the two elemental spirits, giving them both a sharp toothy grin; <“now you=”” both=”” will=”” be=”” good,=”” won’t=”” you?”=””> And they quickly nod at the scary demon patron before them, looks like they at least know the pecking order here.

“I am sorry for the trouble I have caused here, forge owner, would you still be willing to sign a contract with me?” The Terra spirit looks up at me with its glowing eyes. It sounds to be a little more humble now that it has been given a stern talking to… I sort of understand how it feels though… having been talked to by my Mother plenty of times when I am being reckless.

“Sure, let’s make a contract, you’d make a great addition to the family small one.” I smile down at the little rock, thinking of a name for the creature…

“Then what sort of contract are you willing to sign with me? I am willing to become your underling, after how rude I was being…” It is hard to actually read the emotions on its face… being made of rock and all… though I could probably feel that this thing was not looking forward to being an underling of someone else, and maybe wants something different. If I recall, Gaotha mentioned being family to this child… perhaps that’s what it wants too… though, as a fanged grin spreads on my face, was I ever going to do anything different…

“How about this, same with all my children, you shall be family. I understand what that entails, but I am willing if you are as well.” I crouch down and pet the mossy rock head of the Terra spirit, “How about the name Talamh? In my old tongue, it means Gentle Earth, seeing as you don’t appear to be very hostile.” As I offer it a name, Talamh gives a slight nod, before the contract is signed by the agreement of both parties. “Feel free to do as you like in here, Gaotha flies around mostly; and the patrons just laze around all day talking. Let’s work together from now on.” It nods, and then sinks into the rock in the wall, allowing me to leave the forge for now…

…

…

The next day, father has the four of us outside on the training ground; looks like today will be the day that he decides to teach us some skills when it comes to fighting. We four children sit there on the ground, and listen to him as he prattles on about the words and advice of our elders, and the ones who came before. Basically, he is giving us a lesson on the complexities of combat, and best to read our opponents; something that he has been drilling into my head every night during our daily chess game.

“As you all know, there are those born with certain gifts imbued upon them by the Patrons that give them guard. From my examinations, Yehai and Juniper here will be able to learn combat type skills faster; save for Nihlis who will be able to learn skills like Archery or Tracking faster.” Zekiel gives a slight nod, I understand; as my gift is Craftsmaster, “Now skills themselves have some peculiarities; let’s take Melee Combat as an example. It’s a skill group in itself, so it uses a ranking system as opposed to level, and melee type skills such as Swordplay or Axe Use are under it.” The old demon begins making notes on a slate board for us to understand; “Now, let us say that Melee Combat has twenty skills under it; getting five skills would be rank zero, and getting those to level one would make the group rank one. You can learn all twenty skills, and you will need to do so at the highest rank to be considered the highest rank. I’ll go ahead and explain the ranks now…” Father then begins to write them down…

Rank Zero – Novice; One who is just learning the skill, able to utilize the skill with simple mastery, yet does not gain any benefit from any of the special abilities skills have innate to them; such as a Miner knowing where to hit to get the most ore, or a Lumerjack hitting the tree to not cause aftershocks to go back through the axe.

Rank One – Apprentice; Good job, you got a hand on the skill, but don’t think you’re a hot shot as of yet; this is just a first step into the true rankings. You gain the first insight to the skill, but it’s just so you don’t harm yourself in the manner a novice would. There will also be a lesser use of fatigue or mana when using a skill of this rank, depending.

Rank Two – Journeyman; Welcome to being competent with the skill at hand; where one can truly say that they have an understanding of what it is they are doing. You are able to access some of the more useful abilities of the skill; such as archery giving you some help on where to aim to get a better shot.

Rank Three – Expert; At this level, you can truly start calling yourself competent at what you are doing and can utilize the advanced skill compliments. Our example will be for Tracking; once you discover a quarry’s footprints, then you will see a glowing trail that shows you the direction the quarry has gone.

Rank Four – Master; Welcome to the top of the ladder for mortal means… at least some say. This takes work as you have to get half the skills of a group to be level ten. Let us say that a Blacksmith gets to this level, then their forge works will have a chance to be a quality two steps above their level.

Rank Five – Grandmaster; This is the true top of the mountain, where one can say that they have fully become the leader of the pack. To attain this ranking, then you need to have every skill under the group at their maxed level. When you have this rank, then the skills under it have a chance to become legendary; allowing you to attain a divine skill rank.

“These are the different ranking for the skill groups; I would suggest actually trying to attain these levels of mastery so that you will have an easier time at life. Now you don’t have to use the abilities granted by the ranks, but most people do… guess that’s why the level of actual masters has gone down in recent years.” Zekiel sighs softly while shaking his head, putting his chalk down and looking at his four children; “Any questions at this time?”

None of us raised out hands, which was probably because either we didn’t understand what to ask, or we understood what it was father was talking about. I just kind of tap my fingers against my leg, as I already knew all of this, and father had a habit of droning on about these things. Of course every night I have to listen to him talk about the things he has researched himself… if I recall, then he stated he is currently working on Grandmaster for a group himself.

“Okay then, no questions. We’ll get started with some simple combat practice so you each can gain at least an understanding of what you need to do to protect yourselves. Of course, Juniper has been getting training from your mother, so she has some skill experience already in Blunt Weapons and Two-Handed Weaponry.” Zekiel turns to look over at his wife, who is currently setting up the training dummies… Indra just whistling to herself as if she is ignoring him staring at her. When I examined Juni earlier, she had already achieved a Rank Zero in Melee Combat with a Level One in Blunt Weaponry, so she can use those weapons rather decently. Sadly she has yet to get the level in two-handed weaponry, so it’s mostly one handed blunt weapons she is okay with for the time being.

“Well then children, you should all choose a weapon to start training with; they’re wooden training weapons, so your mother does not have a fit when you’re training.” Father smiles before mom is right there and putting him in a headlock;

“Who will have a fit, my love?” Mom looks scary as she smiles sweetly at father, who only chuckles;

“Why, you my darling.” As he stands up straight and easily picks mother up in his arms, her face turning red as she hugs him… Juniper giggles, while I just groan… Yehai shakes his head and goes to select a weapon, and Nihls is just way too innocent.

Anyway, leaving the love birds alone; I move over to the rack with weapons loaded on it, each of them have been sized to us children… Juni was already grabbing her training hammer to try and get that level of Two-Handed Weaponry. Looking at the available weapons… I pick up a spear from the rack and feel the heft of the shaft, before tossing this to Yehai. He catches it with a look on his face;

“Any reason why you’re tossing this to me?” His face is curious, but also… maybe a little relaxed with that in his hand;

“I don’t know, just seems like it would suit you very well; we’d need to get you a shield along with that.” I smile back at my brother, before looking through the weapons some more, “But work on that first, learning the weapon skill is the main aspect at this time.” Yehai gives a nod before taking the spear and going to begin practicing. Picking up a wooden dagger, I give it a couple of swings, before walking over to Nihls and handing this to him;

“Nihls, you should learn how to use a Dagger at least, even if you’re going to be an archer. Just go swing it at the dummy over there, and don’t worry too much.” I pet his head, the little angel boy smiling as he holds onto the dagger, and going off to do what I said; he’s a decent boy. Now for me to go to the rack and begin scanning the weapons for me to check…

‘Mala and Hann, I want to have current skill training progress set on my hud please. For the moment, I want to train Hand-to-Hand, so put that up, and any advice on faster training methods?’ Thinking to my Patrons, I shake my head at the weapons, and go to the training dummy to begin my own work;

[“Yes dear Holder; you should see the skill progress for what you are currently working on now, and for learning it’s just keep whacking the dummy until you learn it.”] Mala smile gently, [“Have to learn the basics before anything will really stick though, so just keep at it until you collapse.”] Is what she says, but I am sure she just means… train and train and train. Sighing softly, I put my attention to the new bar that is in front of my eyes;

Hand-to-Hand Skill: Level One

Progress: 0000 / 1000

– Throw 500 Punches [000 / 500]

– Land 500 Kicks [000 / 500]

Well, that seems rather simple… as I take in a deep breath and just simply strike the dummy with my fist, looking at the bar now;

Hand-to-Hand Skill: Level One

Progress: 0001 / 1000

– Throw 500 Punches [001 / 500]

– Land 500 Kicks [000 / 500]

It is that simple; though the number is quite… much, if you ask me. Guess that’s the thing about skills in this world, one has to work their a.s.s off for even the first level of the skill. Cracking my neck and putting on a serious face… take up a position… and begin to progress through the punch portion of the skill…

…

…

The parents are off playing amongst themselves; Bandi shakes his head and gives a sigh, taking the place of his randy child’s overseeing of the grandchildren’s training. The Jarl slowly makes his way around the training yard and checks on the progress of the children, towering over their little bodies with his immense self. It is the job of the Jarl to make sure the next generation is brought up properly, yes indeed… Bandi strokes his beard with a smile.

From how he sees it, Juniper has the most promise at the moment, but she has a slow start in life due to her upbringing; if Indra can pull herself away from her husband long enough, then this la.s.s can be raised to be an exemplary fighter. What is surprising is that one of her patrons has given her the ability of Berserk, which when in the hands of a half-elemental could be quite dangerous for whomever is in front of it. Now if only she can learn how to keep her rationality… and maybe how to listen to authority… Bandi strokes his beard and wonders if Juniper isn’t actually Indra’s daughter…

Her hammer work is definitely getting much better than it was a few days ago, but she seems to still be having issues with the two handed part of it. Bandi gruffs to himself before moving up to the young la.s.s, and helping her get into a proper position and hand hold to understand the skill better. These two have a good relationship, Juniper seeing Bandi as a big fluffy bear of a gramps, so is very happy when the Jarl gives her tips. He chuckles behind the giant beard before moving on to the next grandchild; checking in on how Yehai is handling the spear.

From what Bandi has seen so far, Yehai has a good stat and patron distribution for becoming a warrior in the near future; stroking his beard at the thought of maybe having him train under the Guards. He might also show favor to the young Yehai, due to him taking after his dragon heritage; which is odd in itself.

Yehai at this time was indeed training with the spear, using both hands on the haft to get a basic understanding of how it feels in his hands. The young lad is stabbing the blunted end into the dummy, over and over, just going through the basic motions of how it is usually used. More than likely, Krendal is giving him advice on what he needs to do; and luckily he is able to gain a heightened understanding with just this. Though his stamina is quite low right now, perhaps the old man will share the way to gain a few stamina traits for the boy.

Bandi walks up to Yehai, and helps his posture and foot work; though it was nearly well perfect, Patron advice is an amazing thing really. Giving the boy a pat on the head, the old bear walks to check up on Nihlis this time, seeing that the child chose a dagger to train with; it’s a good supplementary weapon for archers to have. Course the child has yet to decide to become an archer, but it was probably inevitable for him to do so. Having a hunt patron usually led to the holder taking up archery in one way or another. Though the boy was probably did not have it in him to go toe to toe with another creature, Nihls was a gentle boy who cried for his momma frequently. The Jarl gives a sigh and shakes his head, before moving up to give the boy some pointers with the dagger…

Nihlis already had a decent grip on the dagger, and was swinging it neatly; though he had some openings to his form, it was decent for a child. Bandi scratched his head at the development of his grandchildren, maybe their father actually did teach them a few things before he went off to play. He pets the young boy’s head before going to check on his final grandchild… technically his first from Indra… Bandi sighs already; this is a strange one for him.

He doesn’t love this grandchild any less than the others; it’s just he barely understands him. This child has always surprised him when it came to simple things; ability to speak clearly, his focus on tasks he enjoys, but mostly how he seems to look at the world in such a different way than anyone the old man has ever met. The old bear can’t help but feel, that it’s like his grandson is viewing the world as if it’s his first time, but also as if he was always here and coming home. Bandi has brought this up to both parents, getting different responses from either parent; Indra just smiled and talked about how his good points are always there… and how he’s such a momma’s boy when no one is watching. Zekiel… he has spent the most time with the child, and his thoughts are that there is something peculiar with him, but does that make him any less a member of their family?

As he walks up to where Zeri is currently training, Bandi gives a smile at the focused and determined expression on the lad as he punches away at the wooden log. To the Jarl, this fashion of training is not bad, and the fact the boy decided to train on his hand-to-hand first before any weaponry could be seen as a sign of genius. Footwork is perfected, reaction time is improved, and it doesn’t require a weapon at hand to fight; also with his own set of armoring, it fits him well. Though in the Jarl’s mind, is a small inkling of something that is keeping him on his guard; as the child doesn’t have a flaw to his form… it more like he is standing in a neutral position, and just straight punching at the log…

…

…

In my past life, I actually knew a thing or two about fighting hand-to-hand, having joined a gym long ago to protect myself in the seedier parts of the state… much use that did me in the end. However, during my time in that gym, I had instilled into me the forms and combat styles of three different martial arts; Boxing, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai. If I recall, my instructor called me a Brawler type due to my body build and how I threw my punches. He wasn’t wrong, as most of my sparring matches and bouts ended with the opponent being beaten black and blue, not saying I was undefeated; just the opponent was quite damaged as well during the fight.

At this time, I am just doing what my instructor had taught me when I first started out, get used to the thought of punching something; and hit the bag a set number of times. Then I had hit the bag around one hundred times, now I am doing this five hundred times… then five hundred kicks. This action bringing back memories of the past, making me think of those that I had left behind and probably had to cry over my casket.

Even in this body, the pure muscle memory of throwing a straight brings me solace from those thoughts; bringing me to a zen like state… or that was Death’s Patience rearing its head and causing me to lose track of anything else around me. As the voices of the elements become quiet, as the world becomes dark save for what is within my own line of sight; I continuously let my fists cut through the air between me and the log. The drips of blood from my cut open fists, the cracking of my bones; becoming nothing but static in my world, numb to all pain receptors as my task is set in stone.

I could barely see the counter in my peripheral that is ticking up with every punch I throw, as if with every intake of breath and release is what is causing the counter to raise. It doesn’t even tick in my mind when I pa.s.s by the five hundred punch goal, and continue on, the actual counter continuing to do its work. It’s not until I am forcibly yanked back that my mind snapped out of this state, the shock causing my to yell out, and bring back the world from the darkness that prevailed; the first thing I see is the worried yet angry face of my grandfather;

“What is going through that thick head of yours, boy? Can you not hear with your ears, or feel with your own hands?” Bandi yanks his grandchild up, after a while of trying to get his attention; after noticing his hands were bleeding quite heavily. “Wake up and notice the damage you are causing yourself; I know you can lose yourself, but don’t do so to the point you can’t notice when your hands are bleeding.”

Looking down at my hands, I notice that the fingers look as if I had grated them with a wire mesh; blood dripping from the knuckles that I had shaved the flesh from. I wince slightly at the sight, but I still smile;

“Ah, that was my mistake, I forgot to wrap my hands to better protect them… especially with a wooden log as my sparring partner. Sorry.” I smile up at my grandfather, who sighs and shakes his head, easily carrying me by my scruff to the side of the training yard and where Dande; mother’s mage friend, is sitting for these kinds of purpose. The giant bear setting me down next to her, so I can be further scolded as she heals my hands with her Holy style magic. I just simply apologize with a smile on my face; causing both to sigh at how careless I could be; which I was careless. Bare knuckle is usually frowned upon due to the damage you can do to your hands, I’m just lucky that there is healing magic in this world or it would take a few days to get back to training.

It was then that I noticed the obvious blinking indicator in front of my own eyes;

Hand-to-Hand Skill: Level One

Progress: 0500 / 1000

– Throw 500 Punches [522 / 500] {Alert}

– Land 500 Kicks [000 / 500]

I quirk a brow at the Alert notice on my punch training being over by a good twenty-two… though now is not a good time to ask as I am being healed; would be odd for me to lose focus now. Keeping my head down and getting a good scolding from Dande, waiting for her to fully heal my hands before she sighs once more;

“Look kiddo, I know you share the blood of both Indra and Zekiel… but could you not inherit both of their reckless behaviors? They both can’t take care of themselves if they get into a task, and we don’t need a second generation of that.” The mage chastises, though with some affection for her friends in her voice. She then pets my head and gives my horns a gentle pat; “Continue to work hard though, you’re only three and have two spirits living in you; once you learn how to manifest Mana, then you can start to learn spells for them. Come to me when that day comes; Aunty will take care of you.” She smiles, and lets me go back to what I was doing.

Though I don’t go directly back to training, instead going to find some leather and cloth I can use as a rudimentary hand wrap so I don’t cut up my fists anymore. Last thing I need is to cause people to worry more, and slow me down from figuring out what happens if I overtrain like I already have… speaking of;

‘Mala, explain please.’ I quickly ask as I begin to wrap up my fists in the leather first, then wrapping some cloth bandages over those to gain some stability. I am making sure to make the leather thin enough so I don’t stop my bones from cracking, just flesh damage; one of the first things I did with the gym was strengthen my bones by cracking them and allowing them to heal. When one does this, the bones come back a little tougher than before… save that later on in life you will feel it.

[“Every skill has parameters for it to be learned to its fullest; not many know that since they can’t see them like you do, the odd convergence of Life’s Guide and Keeper’s Eye make it so. However, those parameters can be doubled, thus allowing a skill to be a bit stronger than they normally would.”] Mala sighs softly, probably being a little ticked off that I was harming myself in my training, it’s like I have two mothers, [“The way a skill is learned, is that the one wishes to learn the skill while training; thus they usually pa.s.s by the special evolution. Since you can see and know, then you will be given a choice to learn the skill whenever you want.”]

‘So… what would happen if I double the requirements for the first level of hand-to-hand?’ I ask while walking to the log once more, my hands now wrapped with linen and leather to protect the flesh.

[“Hmmm… well, none of us Patrons have a purview of any form of Combat, so it won’t be the greatest of gifts… but the least it could be would be increased damage with hand-to-hand. It’s all luck based and not set in stone really.”] She seems a little depressed over not having a defacto answer, but I just smile and begin once more on my training… with renewed vigor…

…

…

Hand-to-Hand Skill: Level One {Evolution Possible}

Progress: 1000 / 1000

– Throw 500 Punches [1000 / 0500] {Alert}

– Land 500 Kicks [1000 / 0500] {Alert}

Sitting on the side of the training field, I breathe heavily at the amount of work that I had put in for this d.a.m.n evolution; this is why you never challenge me to something. Spending the whole day in front of that log, and giving it every kick and punch I was able to, surprising pretty much all the adults with the amount of work I was putting into it. I am sure they have some thoughts on why it’s taking me long to learn the skill… hopefully it won’t reflect negatively on me… sighing softly I look at the spinning wheel before my eyes.

Once more, it was one of those lovely wheels that randomly landed on something; having already pressed it and waited for it to stop on the option it was going to land on. Though I wonder what the heck I got myself into…

(Gain a Trait that compliments Hand-to-Hand)

Tier 1: The Holder’s Bones are more dense than usual; to an effect of Double

Tier 2: The Holder’s Bones are as dense and st.u.r.dy as stone

Tier 3: The Holder’s Bones are as dense as Iron

Tier 4: The Holder’s Bones are as dense as Steel

I am sitting down right now due to the fact I can feel the trait taking effect on me, and lord does it hurt… my bones are creaking as they seem to compress into themselves. Wish some people would give me a warning about things like these; can’t really expect my Patrons to see the future results of a random thing though.

“Hey little bro, you alright?” I turn my head to see Juni taking a seat behind me, and then feel her pulling me into her lap; rubbing my hair and horns. Though as soon as I am in her lap; “Woah little bro, you’re getting a bit heavy now… maybe you’ve been eating too much?” My face, could probably be said to look like one of disbelief…

“This coming from you, is quite funny. You eat double what I eat, and yet you don’t seem heavier.” Gently teasing her as she tweaks my ear with a grimace;

“Watch it, you never talk to a lady like that.”

“But I am not talking to a lady; I’m bantering with my older sister. Besides, I got a new trait that’s causing the weight… but it shouldn’t be too difficult.” Juni sighs before resting her chin on my head;

“You’re growing too quick, how are the rest of us supposed to catch up to you?” The tone of her voice was nearly filled with a morose feeling to it; “At this rate, how are any of us supposed to help you out, you’ll be able to take on the world itself.” I just smile, before reaching up and petting her flamed hair;

“We’re family, I’ll always need all of you… I just want to make sure I can protect all of you.” Giving her my goofy fanged grin; “I have my own plans after all, and each of you plays into them.”

Juniper smiles at her little brother’s words, the both of them sitting on the gra.s.s and just staring away into the distance, the sun slowly making its way across the sky. Looking up at it, I kind of wonder what stories this world has when it comes to lore and mythos, in my previous life; I enjoyed reading everything I could on them. However, I’ll wait until later before I compile my own library of them.

End of Chapter 21