Jjhutto_Son of Flame
patreon
B2 Ch. 51 Face Tat
🕑 Added 2024-03-21 14:55:55 +0000 UTCThe physical personification of the River stood to his full height, surveying the trio from several feet above their eye levels.
“You have my gratitude… I would ask what boon you would have of me, but given the circumstances, I imagine I already know the answer. It is within my power to bring you to the Flower and back, simply step into my waters, and I will carry you.”
“Thank you, sir,” Tilly said as he moved forward in a rush, every clang and shout instilling greater urgency into the moment. He couldn’t stand the idea of them fighting to protect them, while they just stood here.
“Honored Elder, I would request a different boon.” Franklin interposed.
The River’s look softened as he met the Honu’s eyes, “Yes, I see Little Brook's mark on you. It is no small thing to give up such a benefit to your magic…”
The honu nodded, licking dry lips, “What I need most now is the strength to protect those with me. Will you grant me this?” He exclaimed in a rush.
The battle raged a few hundred yards off and the smaller contingent of Consumers was almost upon them. Old Man River, however, took his time considering Franklin’s request.
“My daughter’s blessing would have followed you through every tier of growth, becoming something truly powerful if you survived…” He ran his fingers through his beard as he thought and Tilly choked down a growl of frustration as he drew his hatchets and half turned to keep an eye on their approaching attackers.
The little girl tugged on to her father's hand shyly and he knelt down to hear her whisper, before laughing in response, “OH! Very good child! I had forgotten all about her. That will do nicely!”
Tilly grit his teeth at the pace of the conversation and turned to face the approaching group. They were now within his striking distance, and he could only be able to get in a few throughs before they crashed into the river bank. Amelia pulled several handfuls of something from her pockets, joining Tilly as he lifted his hatchets to throw when they heard a throat-clearing harrumph from behind them. Two huge vortices of water rose up from the river and crashed down on top of the sprinting Consumers with the weight of thousands of gallons behind it.
The force of the water was undeniable, but it did not push the attackers back the way they came. Instead, it swept them to either side of the group and down into the river. Just like that, they were gone, and Tilly suddenly felt a chill as he belatedly looped his hatchets back on his belt. He looked back at the River closely, but no identifier popped up above his head.
“Disgusting parasites if you ask me…” River sniffed absently as he turned his attention back to the three of them, “Now to your boons, you two, pass through my waters, I will grant your companion a gift worthy of this deed.”
Amelia looked over at Tilly raising her eyebrows, and he nodded, whatever was to come, they had to get to the flower first. Without hesitating, she dismissed her mount, and Tilly turned to do the same, trying not to look too closely at the two dark orbs bleeding black ichor as they watched him impassively. With a flex of his will, the Mount faded, and 10% was restored to his Constitution.
Then they turned together towards the water and stepped off the shore into a surprisingly deep drop-off. Before Tilly could even shout out in surprise, he was slipping into the river’s depths, joined by a twin splash to his left.
The water swallowed them, and Tilly felt the invisible grip of a mighty hand encircled him, and launching him forward slipping him in between the flow of water, and taking them along its path in the blink of an eye. His breath constricted, and he fought panic as they moved in a way that confounded his comprehension until suddenly he was breaking the water's surface. They found themselves on the small rocky bank of a shallow mountain stream at the base of the hidden valley.
…
Franklin Level 35 Tundra Caller
Amelia and Tilly disappeared as soon as they stepped into the river, and he could feel his mana stirring in response to the wild application of water and teleport magic that the River employed.
The presence of the being before him vibrated in his senses, and he did not think either of the other two had a grasp of what they were dealing with. This wasn’t a river. This was a manifestation of all Rivers… His power suffused Franklins's water-attuned senses as he tried to maintain calm before what might as well have been a deity.
The figure in question turned from watching the two disappear, and looked Franklin in the eyes, his expression becoming more frank with the others gone.
“You know who I am?”
“Yes, Honored one,” Franklin answered quickly, attempting not to choke on his own nervousness. His great uncle had spoken of such beings. Creatures that bridged the gap between the Land and the Divine realm, standing with one foot in each. He had said he only met two in his time and both had been as wild and unpredictable as a summer storm. They lived by their own code of conduct, and they had very little regard for the wants or cares of the sentients who subsisted off their bounty.
“Good. Keep that to yourself. I am bound to my domain, but your actions have allowed me to tip the scales slightly, so as my daughter suggests, I will grant you a contract with something not seen on Nephesh for Epochs… She will be scaled down to your power level, but I think you will find her a more than suitable reward.” He said, his eyes beginning to glow.
Franklin was about to thank the being but was distracted by two glowing tendrils of water rising from the river before him. They moved toward him almost hesitantly, as if considering, and their glow matched the light coming from the River’s eyes.
“Now, you need to hold still…” He muttered as the point of the tendrils tapered off to razor-sharp points and shot forward. The movement was so fast and shocking that Franklin only had time to blink as a pattern of pain erupted from his brow. They punctured him thousands of times in the space of a breath moving faster than thought, and Franklin bit back a shout as their movements danced a hair’s breadth from his eyes. Then as quick as they came, the tendrils misted away, and the River leaned forward to admire his work.
The girl clinging to his side smiled encouragingly at Franklin as he lifted his hands to his face. He felt no physical change, but he could feel a new Ability available to him, although he did not pull up his screen in front of the Elder, fearing such a thing would be rude.
“I think it is a fierce reminder of what she is,” he said absently turning to his daughter, “What do you think Little Brook?”
At his side, the litter girl's smile turned mischievous and she spoke for the first time since entering the water.
“Auntie Fjord will love it!” she exclaimed. Her father clapped in delight, then turned back to consider the scene playing out just beyond his reach past Franklin and his mount.
“Your friends have shown a surprising amount of resilience, but I am afraid they will be overwhelmed shortly without your help.” He said, waving dismissively.
“Thank you, Honored One!” Franklin said, sketching a respectful bow and turning quickly to find Ichiro’s group a few hundred paces out, surrounded by harrying attackers as the huge Strigoi at the front hammered down blows on Sir Micheal’s crumbling shield.
At the sight, Franklin jerked forward, catching the neck of his skeletal mount and climbing up into the saddle, kicking the summon into a gallop.
“Too many in these milder climates have forgotten what we can do, young Tundra Caller!” the River shouted after him,
“Remind them!”
Franklin nodded, clinging to his mount as it charged forward with a speed inconsistent with its emaciated leathery frame. Franklin felt around his magic and discovered the new frigid place that housed his gifted Ability, pulling up its description as he raced toward his beleaguered friends.
Summon Elementalof the Primordial Ice:
At the cost of 45% of your mana, you may evoke your summon once a day and it will persist until destroyed or ten thousand breaths have passed. Her Strength and Endurance will be scaled to 2x your Intelligence and Wisdom respectively and she will be granted control over her element equal to your highest Ice-related Skill.
Franklin sensed that he could begin the summon anywhere in his line of sight, and he immediately activated the Ability causing whatever had been done to his face to suddenly ache with cold.
He centered the summon right behind the Strigoi leader, and a whirling vortex of Icy winds began to spin in that place. The leader reflexively jumped back from Sir Micheals's crumpled form and turned to take in the new threat.
Gorock looked like he had bathed in blood, most of it his, but the attackers on his side of the surrounding group were all wounded in some way. Ichiro’s robe was glowing with a strange pattern, and he seemed to be untouched, having struck down several foes far above his level, but his eyes were bleeding profusely and his movements showed an uncharacteristic sluggishness.
Hilbert had simply done all he could to hold back the thin group that had come around for a full rear flank. He had his same barrier up again, but Franklin watched it shatter on the next blow from one of the Consumers.
They surged forward into the gap as Franklin's Ability fully activated. The icy whirlwind snapped to a standstill and then exploded with a powerful roar. The sound parted the blanket of snow that had manifested allowing a huge ursine creature to walk through, its pure white fur showing intermittent patches of frost.
As soon as it emerged from the portal, its presence blanketed the area in a sudden freezing cold, and all the attackers pulled back to take measure of the new predator entering the field. Franklin could feel the elemental’s savage satisfaction at the enemies presented before it, and it let out another huge roar. One layered with notes of challenge and defiance.
The Strigoi leader did not hesitate to charge the Summon, releasing a shout Abilitiy that froze Franklin and the others in place. The Elemental rose up on its hindlegs unaffected, and slammed them down, releasing a rolling wave of icy spikes against her charging attacker, and most of the Consumers surrounding the group.
The Axe-wielding leader jumped out of the way, breaking off his shout as he did so, and Franklin lurched into action, launching ice spikes at the backs of the distracted Consumers charging Hilbert’s position.
The whole fight erupted into chaos as the thin balance of the conflict was completely disrupted by the emergence of the new combatants on the field. Gorock, bellowed in unimpeded joy as he dived into the midst of his attackers, who had been scattered by the Ice spike attack.
Ichiro wove through the new obstacles, his white eyes ablaze with a piercing silver light as he removed any stray appendage that appeared in the field of death. Several of the Consumers tried to break through the icy barriers, but as soon as their bodies made physical contact, they would be slowed, immediately growing frosty patches of ice all over their skin.
The leader turned to see he was losing the initiative, and roared again, activating some sort of overdrive and swelling his body with engorged muscle and ropy black veins of corruption. His fanged mouth began to pour a mixture of black ichor and blood as he screamed in part outrage part pain,
“Mikhail, This Is The Last Time You Escape!”
Enraged, he bodily tackled the Elemental, ignoring the patches of ice that formed all over him and viciously cutting into the summons side with his huge serrated axe. The Elemental roared in response and began to gore the flesh of her attacker, even as it continued to reform with an ever-increasing layer of engorged muscle.
The remaining Consumers also went into a full rage, their forms bulging as they shrugged off the slowing effect of the Primordial Ice.
Comments
Wyatt Hilbert
Thanks for the chapter, see this is much better than her falling from the sky.
Wyatt Hilbert
Elementalof
