Chương 1: Start Reading

"Just don't put too much pressure on the axle or it'll snap. It should get you to the next town." Will dusted the drying mud off his pants. Finally we can get out of here. I hate sitting in the middle of the road. It's been nothing but three months of fleeing by road or ship. Nythera kicked a rock near her feet.

"What do we say to the nice man?" The mother pushed her child forward. He tried to hide behind her but she kept a firm grip.

"Thank you mister." The boy fled behind as soon as her claw loosened.

"We really 'preciate this. The road has been hard on our wagon." The mother bowed her head.

"Mind your way east, you'll hit the Edge soon enough." Her parting words of caution rang in Nythera's mind as they split. My first time to the Edge and it had to be under pursuit. She kicked a rock off the road.

"Keep up princess. You wanted to rest and we'll have plenty of time when we reach our destination." Will snapped his fingers at her twice.

"But Will, we can already see the mist. Are we going to follow the Edge up further north?" she huffed, trying to bait him into an explanation so she could rest longer.

"They already boxed us in from the south. I'm afraid the north is the same. Greypoint should serve as a decent vantage point to wait them out from. No one should come looking" Will skipped over a muddy puddle with grace while Nythera nearly lost her footing, sending bits of mud flying. Why can't they just fuck off? They already took everything, and everyone. I miss Ramalia, all of my friends… She held back tears.

The hamlet before the Edge was as dreary as the weather, run-down thatch buildings and a road made of mud and shit. With an Umph, Will dropped the traveling sack on the ground, the weight causing it to sink deep into the mud.

"Wait outside, I'll be back in a bit, and watch the bag." Will ducked into the only building with voices, some kind of haphazardly assembled tavern. The clouds passed by overhead, thick with rain meant for the interior. Weather tended to move from the Edge towards the center. Two little boys watched her, hiding behind the wall of a house.

"Hey." She waved"Red-eyed Witch! It's a cursed-blood witch!" They ran away screaming, darting into the closest building. Why? I hate the way people here react to me, even the children… Half an hour later, the door creaked open, threatening to drop from its hinges.

"Let's go, I got directions." Will's face carried a haggard look, as if extracting the information had cost something beyond coin. His eyes darted around, searching for any threat, slackening as all they found were empty streets. Will slung the too-heavy traveling sack back over his shoulder and without a word, they were off. He forced a smile "Cheer up, this will all be over before long." She took the piece of jerky he offered. Is this the last piece? Getting to Greypoint didn't take long.

"William, isn't there anything better than jerky?" Nythera whined for the tenth time this hour, gnawing away on another piece. A dark shape rocketed towards her face. Her hands fumbled as she tried to catch the potato he tossed. She glared back at him. A potato? Really? I've had nothing but jerky and potatoes for three weeks! I miss real flavor… Whipping it back with all her strength, Will caught the potato and had it in a bag faster than she could track.

"Toughen up, princess, we got a while out here yet." Will pulled his black cloak on and disappeared into the rock he lay against. Her squinted eyes searched relentlessly for an outline, barely visible, even though she knew exactly what she was looking for. She huffed, frustrated she couldn't even see him and turned to look over the rolling, drab hills of Greymere.

"Can't we go back to Ramalia?" She pleaded, half to Will, half to herself.

"You know why we can't, just wait here a few more weeks and we can make our way out of Greymere." Still melded with the rock, Will explained from somewhere.

"Don't worry, it won't be long until we return to the beaches of the south." She sighed and twirled the fluxcell around her fingers; it was warm to the touch and reminded her of father. It would be nice to go back to somewhere warm…

"Careful with that thing. Even I am not entirely sure what it does and flux spells and machinery near the Edge become unstable." Will warned.

"Yeah yeah, I know, okay? There's just nothing to do around here." She whined, turning away from the depressing hills towards the Edge. Rolling waves of white mist; it was all one could see in any direction as it gently curved around the land. Effectively, it was an infinite wall that encircled the world. An incredibly lethal infinite wall. This close to the Edge, the humidity in the air gave her a constantly half-wet feeling that clung to her skin.

The rocks, constantly slick with moisture, made it extremely difficult to keep their rations from spoiling. Just hours ago they had tossed their third spoiled pack. At least the moss softens the rock, could be worse. I hate what it does to my hair though. Will's ultimatum dropped like thunder "Study your runes today, or I'll make you run ten miles, you pick." What a waste of time, runes always ruin the afternoon. She glared in Will's general vicinity. And I've already forgotten where exactly he was, damn it.

Rifling through her bag, she pulled out the Aurendorian Runic Tome, flipping straight to the back. She was nearly done memorizing the advanced sections, but the longer written sections still proved problematic. Mumbling ancient script to herself, she slipped into deep focus, hours fading by. A potato appeared on her lap. She jumped in surprise.

"What the…" Then glared, only to find that Will had returned to being rock before she could see him.

"Eat, you need to keep your strength. You never know when they could be upon us." Will's voice appeared from behind her, but she knew better than to fall for that. Grumbling, she sat back down and bit into the potato.

"William, how about one practice shot? Just one? Please…" She pleaded into the void, knowing Will lay close by. A devilish grin painted her face for just a moment. Come on… come on….

"You know what your father said, no practicing heritage skills till you get your class. Remember what happened the last time?" Will's voice came from her right this time and sounded oddly distant and a bit irritated.

"As your bodyguard, I can't allow you to attempt anything this close to the Edge, you know the risks." his voice trailed off Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. She scowled. Playing games are you? We are already running for our lives. What's a bit of skill practice? Scanning the outcrop, she pinpointed his location and threw the potato with all the might she could muster. It bounced off the rock, rolling onto the ground.

"Hey! Don't waste our rations." Will scolded Got you! She jumped onto a boulder, arms outstretched and crashed into Will's cloak.

"I got you! Give me the jerky!" She wrestled with him, looking for the hidden stash of edible food. In a few seconds Will had her off him, defeated on the ground. Standing over her "Only good children get jerky and you are not a good child." Will said flatly, looking down at her, amusement in his eyes. One day I will win. One day. She pouted. He threw a piece of jerky in his mouth and froze, eyes narrowing.

Clip-Clop Clip-Clop His hand unleashed a flurry of signals and she obeyed, ducking behind a boulder while he cleared out the campsite. Clip-Clop Clip-Clop The sound of horse-hooves on stone grew louder, until they were nearly upon them. A horse's heavy breath from right where their campsite had been. Boots hit gravel. She held her breath tightly. NO, they can't have followed us here! This was supposed to be safe!

Will sighed as he pulled out from behind the boulder and announced himself "You've followed us far enough, you bastard, let's get this over with." What is he doing? Is he insane? Her eyes widened.

"Once your blood stains these rocks I will find and kill the girl." a thick eastern accent said. At the sound of swords being drawn, she could feel the tension boiling, the flux around her grew heavy. Will wins right? Surely? He's a powerful, well-trained bodyguard… no way just one inquisitor can beat him. Right? She flinched as the sound of steel on a steel rang, curling into a ball. Again and again. Never looking past the boulder, she lay huddled in its protection. The flux cell around and around in her hand.

Its increasing heat, both a comfort and a concern. I wish I knew what this thing did. I wish I could do more than cower… A massive flux chain whipped past overhead and smashed through Greypoint, shattering rock and boulder like axes to trees. Shrapnel bounced off the rocks, pelting her and cutting her cheek. Blood dripped onto the stone. She didn't move. A low humming sound permeated the air. Finally! That's Will's best skill! Her heart rose, she was sure of victory.

The sound stopped almost as quickly as it had started. She couldn't stop herself, she leaned up and looked over the edge of the rock. Will stood before the Inquisitor, who bore a huge grin. A sword ran through him from behind. Another inquisitor. Huh… no? What. No. Her mind stopped. She could hear a murmur further down Greypoint, making its way up the slope. Villagers from the nearby town. She recognized some of them. They.. they outed us? After all we did to help them? Rage bubbled up inside her.

"You bastards, how could you?" someone screamed. She screamed. Tears flowed down her eyes as Will's body hit the ground, left to seep in its own blood. NO!

"Over there! She's over there!" She heard one call out.

"Kill her! She's a red-eyed witch!" a villager shouted. It was the mother, the father, and the child. The ones Will had stopped to help on the road, staring with hatred deep in their eyes. Why? Why are the people here like this? Why is Greymere- She glanced at the flux cell again, wiping the tears leaking from her eyes. The Inquisitors approached from either side, nowhere to run. She lifted her head, watching them approach with a resigned expression. I HATE THEM. With a deep breath she waited.

Nothing matters anymore, I just want them to die. They must die for what they did. By now, half a town had assembled behind the inquisitors to watch the spectacle, her execution. And all she had was this stupid legacy spell, the most clumsy spell she had ever heard of. Nythera flicked up her status and scowled. Aether Artillery: Summons a bombard construct, 30 flux per shell with a 50 flux summon cost, 1 flux consumed every 5 seconds. Minimum Flux Quality: 40, Minimum Flux Control 40.

For every level, increase blast radius by 1% and breach depth by 1%. She didn't even know where this thing had come from. Father had always refused to explain it "I'll tell you when you get older" and Will carried the same stance. This stupid thing will blow up in my face again if I try summoning it without the stats… I don't care anymore. + Before her stood two men, clad in white and grey. The older one had a clearly more decorated uniform and the younger one seemed to be deferential.

They spoke rapidly in a language she couldn't make out. Their speech cadence was strange, strict and unvaried, no expression pierced their face. That fucking backstabbing bastard. She glared at the younger inquisitor with hate in her red eyes. The one on her right reached forward and grabbed her hair, yanking her up, she stared back into his eyes.

"Finally, the end of our search." He said with a thick accent casually tossing her forward with the force of a battering ram. She flew fast and slammed against a boulder jutting out of Greypoint. She heard several snaps. The crowd hushed, several peasants appeared to be praying.

"Kronan, save us." and "Thank the gods, our lands will be cleansed". The older inquisitor walked up to her and grabbed her neck in a vice grip. His hand was cold like ice, rings dug deeply into her neck and breath came with difficulty. The inquisitor talked, almost ranting, but she had no idea what he said. Dark-grey chains manifested in the air around her, snaking around her arms and legs. They were cold, sapping her warmth rapidly. Why? Why me? Why my family? Why my father?

She had wondered the same thing when they had ripped her father's arms off. The flux cell burned in her hand, swelling to twice the size it had been before, seams bulging as the exterior began to melt Let's see how you like this. She concentrated and channeled her Aether Bombard, routing her flux through the fluxcell. Nythera smirked back at the inquisitor, straight into his eyes. I am not a dog, I will not die a dog's death. You die with me. Defiance lit her soul.

Her spell rapidly took shape on the ground beneath her in the form of a small and stout grey bombard mortar. A wide tube mounted to two supports stuck on the ground. She knew deep down that forming spells near the mist was ill-advised, but she no longer cared. The chains around her tightened and pulled, she heard a pop from her right arm, pain lancing through her body. The younger inquisitor piped up "This is for the good of the world, you must die." as if it justified everything.

"FUCK YOU! YOU DIE!" She screamed out with the last of her air. Her hate condensed into focus. Focus through the pain, the memories, the cold. It's never gone this well before! Nythera grinned as she felt what was probably going to be her first ever successful cast. Though not a normal one, the very density of the flux at play was far higher than usual. The construct glowed beneath her feet and she could feel that the energies within it had long since gone beyond her control. Far beyond her control.

That doesn't seem good. Her ability to manipulate the inflowing flux to the construct rapidly weakened. Will did warn me not to practice this skill… shit. PLEASE DO SOMETHING. The younger inquisitor pointed and shouted something. The one holding her by the neck looked down. His eyes opened wide. Spectral chains manifested and shot for the bombard, the ones around her torso tightened rapidly in response. At that moment, Nythera's mind, sharpened by adrenaline, forced the spell to crystallize.

Her carefully crafted spell fell apart in an instant. The flux cell drained in a split second as all the system-guidance on her spell disintegrated. BOOM The force from the release of flux sent her flying straight off Greypoint and into the mist, she smiled as she fell. The detonation radius had been massive, the whole rock tumbled into the abyss. Several bodies were launched off the rock with her, into the depths of the mist. Two were clad in white uniforms. I guess I can cast a spell after all. Her eyes closed.

Grinning, she was swallowed by the white void below.