Fates of Grenora: Return of the Night

The portal spat Aldrin out, dumping him in a black-marbled pavilion. He dusted himself off as he stood only to freeze at the crowd in front of him. Thousands of monstrous creatures, including Undead, Dark Elves, a smattering of Dwarves, and sprinkles of humans dotted throughout the crowd — all looked at him. The trance was broken as overhead a massive black dragon roared as it flew over the crowd, disappearing amongst the grey clouds.

"He has arrived!" A floating lich lord shouted then all hell broke loose as the crowd erupted into cheers and joyful roaring. Aldrin shuddered from all the attention and praise as the need to hide crept its way to the forefront of his mind.

The crowd quieted down and waited with bated breath for Aldrin to say anything. He tentatively raised his hand and gave a wave, which made the crowd erupt into a frenzy again. Aldrin saw one goblin faint from overwhelming emotion. Its friends caught the goblin just before its head hit the ground and started fanning it.

"HOLD!" A familiar voice boomed. The hairs on the back of Aldrin's neck stood as the sea of creatures parted, revealing the Demon that started this all.

"Kilinos!" Incensed and consequences be damned, Aldrin flew forward, rocketing through the walkway the crowd created. Aldrin failed to notice the giant clawed hand grab him by the back of his shirt, hoisting him up. Aldrin let the Vampire inside come out as he shifted into his monstrous visage. He jabbed at the wrist of the furry, clawed hand, but his claws barely made a dent.

"This one's got some fight in him. He'll do nicely," a booming beast of a voice growled.

"I told you he had great potential," Kilinos said, walking up to a dangling Aldrin. "Now I know our first meeting wasn't grand, but I figured since you've spent some time being a monster you'd come around." Kilinos stated as he slightly leaned down to look Aldrin in his crimson eyes.

"Fuck you!" Aldrin clawed at the hand and tried to kick the Demon in front of him, but Kilinos took a step back out of reach, amused by the struggle Aldrin was in.

Kilinos and whatever was holding Aldrin both shared a deep chuckle. "Still a long ‌way to go before you can even touch me, but you're on your way," Kilinos stated, then clasped his hands behind his back as he stared down at Aldrin with a menacing grin. "Like the welcoming party I got you?" he teased.

Aldrin roared, sounding more beast than man this time. Kilinos' grin faltered as he shook his head. "Look, kid." He stared until Aldrin was calm enough. "You're a small fish in a big pond. You're growing, but other bigger fish are already circling. I'm here to help you. I meant it when I said you were my brother." Kilinos admitted with a sincere look.

That gave Aldrin's pause a moment to catch up with the rest of him. "What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes as he stopped resisting.

Kilinos sighed, which was uncharacteristic for a Demon, a Demon progenitor at that. "Are you going to listen?"

Aldrin nodded as rational thoughts resurfaced. He was outclassed and outnumbered. "I can set aside my rage for the moment, but this doesn't mean I forgive you for what you did to me." He told Kilinos, unwilling to admit that he wouldn't make it out alive if he started fighting anything and everything.

Kilinos chuckled, his orange reptilian eyes gleaming with amusement. "I wouldn't have it any other way. To start off, do you know what Progenitors actually are?"

Aldrin shook his head until he remembered Histas' name and the title of being the spawn of Eurai, who, if he recalled correctly, was one of the gods that helped shape the world. "Demigods…?"

"Smarter than you look," Kilinos grinned. "Yes, demigods. However, we are mortal until we reach tier 6. There is a tier 7, which is where true divinity lies, but more on that later. Long story short, Progenitors are the children of the gods."

That revelation forced Aldrin's mind to screech to a halt. "You mean…I can become a god..?" he asked, picking through each phrase that came out of Kilinos' mouth.

Kilinos grinned. "By slaying another progenitor. Hence the cause of the progenitor wars to begin with. What you are now," he gestured to Aldrin. "Was as a contingency plan using our father's blood, Vearis, the God of Balance."

"What does that have to do with me then?" Aldrin asked.

Kilinos shrugged. "Honestly, kid, you were just at the right place at the wrong time. It could have been anybody, but it was you." He admitted, and that deflated Aldrin.

"I was just an…accident..?" Aldrin asked in disbelief.

"Yes, but not an unwelcome one. I mean, look at you thriving! I couldn't be prouder! I'm sure father would be too," Kilinos laughed then looked at whatever was holding Aldrin. "You can put him down now, Gelic. He's having an existential crisis, thinking he's not anyone special."

Gelic, who the clawed hand belonged to, let Aldrin go, letting him fall to the ground. Aldrin barely registered to catch himself as the revelations once again broke him. "So…I have a spark of divinity? Does everyone who reaches Tier 6 have the same?"

Kilinos' booming laughter made some flinch at the suddenness then halted. "No. Just Progenitors." He deadpanned.

"And are you a god?" Aldrin asked, staring up at the Demon.

"No, I'm perfectly content doing things where I am, nor do I have any intention of becoming one either." Kilinos answered without his usual mirth, letting Aldrin know Kilinos had no ambitions for godhood, but he also picked up that the Demon was still holding something back.

"I… I need a minute to process this…" Aldrin said and slowly got up and walked around Kilinos to go deeper into the Black Bazaar. The crowd parted for him as he made his way. He could finally see that the Black Bazaar was its own dimension. It was tightly packed on one long, never-ending straight road with every shop you could think of. It mirrored what you would find ‌in a large city. Forges belched their black smoke, alchemy shops had the occasional flare from potions, and enchanter workshops had runes that glittered above their doorway but nothing drew his attention as he wandered down the road.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

His entire existence boiled down to being at the right place but wrong time, and that bothered him more than it should have. On top of learning that he has the potential to become a god, but only if he killed another progenitor to elevate him past tier 6.

Sadly, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to lash out. The beast inside raged, writhing beneath the surface of his skin, expressing and mirroring his own displeasure. He wasn't an accident, he told himself. Everything he did, he had done with his own hands, albeit it may have never been his choice to begin with, but he made it his own with some reluctance in the beginning.

His aimlessness finally stopped him in front of a forge called Ruthik's Arcane Smithy. It was an open forge, with only two wooden posts holding up the sign above. Two forges, one built by normal mechanical means, reminiscent of the ones all smiths were known for, with its normal reddish-orange fire. The other forge was crafted by magical means, it was built like a bonfire with a waist-high stone wall, except when Aldrin zoomed in at the stones with his eyesight, each stone held a singular glyph, not quite like Evie's runes but something more he didn't understand as the longer he stared he felt a faint pressure build between his eyebrows. The glyphs along the stone wall faintly glimmered before blue flames kissed the lip of the stone wall. Aldrin felt the dark magic leak from the flames at the threshold where he still stood. It had a calming effect on him, as if it were welcoming him in.

"Hello?" he called out into the forge as he stepped past the threshold. There was a thin film barrier that washed over him, and with it he felt the heat from the two forges brush against his skin. He looked back at the entrance and frowned, wondering why he couldn't sense the magic emanating from there to begin with but could feel the magic from the blue-flamed forge. His attention split between the magical forge and the rhythmic hammering grating on his ears.

Aldrin stepped deeper in, the blue-flamed forge calling to him as it lazily danced in its pit, but he did his best to ignore it, wanting to at least meet the blacksmith who claimed this forge. "Hello?" He called again, and this time the hammering stopped.

There was a crash of tools hitting the ground as the sound of heavy footsteps rounded the normal forge, the reddish-orange flames obscuring the figure behind it. From the side stepped a robust, stout of a man that came up to Aldrin's neck. He was a deep shade of purple with black hair and a braided beard that stopped at the gap between his legs. His eyes seemed to glimmer with starlight as they peered at Aldrin. He was dressed in soot-covered brown overalls, steel-toed boots, and thick blackened gloves with a well-made hammer in one hand. Aldrin had only ever heard myths of Deep Dwarves, yet here stood one before him.

The Deep Dwarf took one look at Aldrin, his starlight eyes shining, then his face broke into a calming smile. "How may I help you, Lord Progenitor?" he asked in a baritone elegant voice Aldrin didn't expect.

Aldrin stared for a minute, his mouth hanging open from the shock. "You know who I am?" he stammered.

The Deep Dwarf surprised him even more when he placed a firm yet gentle hand on his shoulder. "I do, son. I've seen you in my visions since I came up to my mom's belly." He said with a tight smile.

The Deep Dwarf had a calming, almost fatherly effect on Aldrin as he struggled with what to say. "I came here for one thing but got something else instead. Something that changed my perspective on things." He finally said, getting his thoughts together.

The Deep Dwarf snapped his fingers, making two stools float over to them. He gently prodded Aldrin to sit down on one while he sat down on the other. "I know you did. So tell me instead what you came here for?" He asked softly, clasping his hands in front of him.

"To arm my newest allies," Aldrin said quietly as he looked down at his hands, replaying that he was an accident over and over in his mind.

The Deep Dwarf sagely nodded then turned his head towards the forges. "Svestra! Put ‌some of your tea on, will you? Three cups if it's a yes!" He bellowed deeper into the forge.

"Special occasion, dear?" A sweet, melodic voice answered in return. It made Aldrin's senses tense as he felt there was an undercurrent of danger to the voice.

The Deep Dwarf looked at Aldrin before answering. "You could say that!"

There wasn't a reply afterwards, or maybe there was, but Aldrin paid no attention to it as he sat there. "Do you want to talk about it, Lord Progenitor?"

Aldrin scoffed at the title. He didn't feel like one. Despite that, he told the Deep Dwarf everything. From beginning to his current position, leaving nothing unturned. The Deep Dwarf just listened, didn't interject, nor ask questions but just listened to Aldrin's tale, and to Aldrin it just felt like he was talking to his father all over again when he was still a boy.

There were quick taps on the stone floor of the forges, making Aldrin perk up and his senses tighten to figure out what it was. It reminded him of too many legs, much like the Death Gorgers. Luckily, it wasn't that as a half-woman, half-spider rounded the corner. She held soft, sculpted Elven features, long white hair and eight brown eyes that unnerved Aldrin to no end as he slowly stood and backed away. In her hands, she carried a tray with three cups and one large tea kettle with its lid slightly opened to let it chill.

"This is my wife, Svestra. I'm Ruthik," the Deep Dwarf told Aldrin, noticing the way Aldrin couldn't tear his eyes off his wife.

Svestra gave a shy wave as her eyes flicked back and forth between Ruthik and Aldrin, but it did nothing to assuage his fears of the spider woman. "Honey, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked which Ruthik quickly picked up the urgency and stood. "Please give us a minute, Lord Progenitor." She said and bowed before grabbing Ruthik by the hand and yanking him away with her.

"Are you sure about this?" Aldrin overheard Svestra ask, making sure that he kept his eyes on her, more so the spider half of her.

There was a long pause before Ruthik answered. "I am. Fate glows around him."

There was a heavy sigh then they both came back. Aldrin had to pretend he didn't hear anything. "Would you like some tea, Lord Progenitor?" Svestra sweetly asked as she started pouring the drinks.

Aldrin looked to Ruthik, who gently nodded his head. "She's not going to hurt you," he calmly told Aldrin.

Aldrin wrestled down the fear and unease he felt towards Svestra. "I do, and I am sorry for my reaction." He solemnly said and took the tea. Although he already knew he wouldn't be able to taste it, he didn't want to offend their hospitality even further. He already was trying to suppress the shiver that ran down his spine whenever Svestra gave a clear view of her spider half.

They all took a sip, and Aldrin pretended like he enjoyed it until Svestra nearly spat out her tea. "I'm sorry! You're a Vampire!" She quickly fumbled around. "You need blood! Not tea! Oh, gods, I'm sorry!" She grabbed Aldrin's cup from his hands and wheeled around, fleeing behind the forges, and Aldrin damn near let a whimper escape as thoughts of facing an actual arachnid of that size filled him with a fear he hadn't felt in a long time.

Ruthik smiled and patted Aldrin's arm. "It's alright. She's not like her other kin." He assured, noticing Aldrin fighting against his distress.

"I don't mean to be. I just have a fear of spiders. I had actively avoided any missions where even the hint of facing a giant spider was mentioned." Aldrin admitted which Ruthik laughed. Aldrin couldn't help but laugh along as even Ruthik's laugh was comforting, much like his voice.

"Now what do you actually need? I'm a Tier 5 Rune Forgemaster with an Enchanter profession." Ruthik beamed with pride.

"I need weapons and armor to at least fit fifty Orcs," Aldrin stated.

"Metal?" Ruthik said, scribbling down on a piece of paper he pulled from within his shirt.

"What can you do?" Aldrin asked, curious of what a Rune Forgemaster was capable of.

Ruthik let a cheeky grin spread across his face. "For the Lord, anything."

"If you can get your hands on an easy metal that can be enchanted for weapons, for one. But I don't know what armor would be good. The Orcs ride Terror birds." Aldrin said.

Ruthik tapped his charcoal pencil against his head. "Let me think of something, but you won't be disappointed," he said.

Aldrin thanked him, and in time Svestra came back with a goblet filled with blood that smelled of vanilla. He gratefully took it and settled down to talk more with the two, unknowing that Ruthik and Svestra would become his two stoutest supporters in the game of Demigods.