Herald of death

"Actually, I have questions about an item I found some time ago," Ethan says. He summons a crystal in his hand. "It is called a Deathvein Crystal, and I failed to find how to use it."

"Do you have abilities or spells reliant on death Ether?" Gulthur asks.

"Two spells and two abilities. One of them even requires me to improve my affinity to death Ether to even learn." Ethan quickly recalls the descriptions of the Labyrinth of Death's looted books.

Spell book: Blight

Whoever reads the content of this book will learn the spell: Blight. This spell belongs to the death school of magic.

Blight: Causes the rapid decay of the target.

Spell book: True Death

Whoever reads the content of this book will learn the spell: True Death. This spell belongs to the death school of magic.

True Death: Marks the soul of the dying target, denying it resurrection from any source. If used on an errand soul, it will be banished to the afterlife.

Ability book: Soulsight (C)

Whoever reads the content of this book will learn the Soulsight (C) ability.

Soul sight: Allows you to see the sea of souls and the souls of living beings with your eyes.

E rank: Allows you to see the souls of objects.

D rank: Increases Ether consumption. Allows you to see through spiritual disguises.

C rank: Increases Ether consumption. Your gaze burns souls.

Ability book: Wraith's touch (C)

Whoever reads the content of this book will learn the Wraith's touch (C) ability. A high affinity with death Ether is required to learn this ability.

Wraith's touch: Coat your hand in a veil of death Ether. When striking a living target, this touch injects death Ether into their Ether pathways.

E rank: Once in a target, the death Ether will resist attempts to control it.

D rank: When striking a target harboring life Ether, Wraith's touch will consume Ether to trigger their dissonance.

C rank: Increases Ether consumption. As long as this ability's death Ether remains in a target, it becomes resistant to healing effects.

Ability book: Banshee's howl (C)

Whoever reads the content of this book will learn the Banshee's howl (C) ability. A high affinity with death Ether is required to learn this ability.

Banshee's howl: Empowers your screams with a curse that eats away at the health and stamina of any who hear them. The curse ignores those considered as allies.

E rank: Increases Ether consumption. Screams empowered by this ability echo further away through the Ether.

D rank: The errand souls affected by this ability are banished to the afterlife.

C rank: Increases the Ether consumption. This ability casts an area around the user that inflicts a necrotic curse. This curse ignores those considered as allies.

Ethan gave the last ability, Banshee's Howl, to Russ. Screaming to use an ability isn't something he saw himself doing.

"You would lessen your ability to store, use, and support life Ether; is that a price you can pay?" Gulthur asks.

"I'm not ready to make that choice yet. But I need to know how to use these crystals if I ever have to." Ethan summons his two remaining Deathvein crystals. "I fear they will create strings for a certain goddess to tie me with."

Gulthur erupts with deep laughter. "You shouldn't bother yourself with the whims of the gods. Unless you bind yourself to one through oaths, they hold no power over you."

'Calling my soul to her realm in my sleep is ominous enough,' Ethan thinks. He makes the crystals vanish. "I'm inclined to think otherwise. Nevertheless, I need to know how to use them."

"Place the crystal against your chest, above your heart. Let it feel your aura and echo the one it will release; the rest will happen on its own." Gulthur releases his aura, letting Ethan feel it in its entirety. An unnatural, unknown kind of Ether is mixed into it, swirling through Gulthur's body without affecting it. "Your affinity to Ethers will improve as you use them, even without those rare crystals. It is natural, and I can assure you the god of war has no power over me."

"I'll think it over," Ethan says. "On another matter. Were you alive when your world, Varnokh, coalesced with this one?" Ethan asks.

Gulthur's aura makes the surrounding Ether shiver before he restores his control over it. "You are opening old, painful wounds, little one. What is the purpose of this question?"

"One of my interests is the study of coalescences. Meeting someone who not only lived through one but also comes from the coalesced world is an opportunity I can't miss." He fakes a scholarly insensitivity. "It's my understanding that during your invasions someone from this world came to Varnokh. He stole something from it, but we don't know what it could have been."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"We?" Gulthur asks.

"Scholarly adventurers like myself," Ethan lies. He takes care of controlling his Ether, lessening his aura. "It should have happened after one of the labyrinth's conquests."

"Do you know how my world was?" Gulthur asks. Getting his question answered by another one diminishes Ethan's hope of a satisfying answer.

"The only depiction I know of Varnokh is that of an endless desert, scorched by your two suns, inhabited by lethal, venomous beasts."

Gulthur grins at Ethan's description. "For as long as I remember, we have known only war. Every drop of water, every scrap of food needed to be taken. We did not have the culture or the pride in our artifacts that you humans seem to have."

"You didn't have arts and crafts or even care for archeology?" Ethan asks.

"The strongest amongst us, the chiefs of our clans, did horde treasure gathered in each conquest." Gulthur closes his blind eyes and lifts his gaze, remembering. "They had treasures from times present and past. Mountains of them. But this is the very greed that allowed humans to kill them."

Ethan recalls some of his history book's paragraphs. "That only happened once you conquered our capital, didn't it?"

"Our chiefs grew complaisant, fat, and weak, intoxicated by your world's plentifulness. You humans killed them one after the other, dishonorably," Gulthur explains with a growl. "We buried them below the now human capital with their cursed treasures."

"What I'm referring to couldn't have been buried with them," Ethan says. "It should be something unique and, I'm only guessing, potent."

"I can't help you," Gulthur barks. He calms down, but Ethan can tell it is only a mask. "I remember some of us carving frescoes of our history there, believing it would be ours forever. Perhaps you may find answers in them."

"In Kingsreach?" Ethan asks. 'That's practical.'

"Indeed," Gulthur confirms.

"The lordling is Kingsreach's ruler's son. I guess that cannot be an easy cohabitation for you or Razak." Ethan hopes the inconsiderate question will give him some intel on the man.

"Here, you are a warrior and nothing else. You are welcome as long as your goal is to grow stronger and, in doing so, help us and others do the same." Gulthur jumps to his feet. "If you were one of us, a true Orc, you'd understand how hard it is for me to uphold that vow. Please, leave for now; I'll see you again once you require more guidance in the way of Ether."

Ethan jumps to his feet in the same manner as Gulthur before recalling Russ. "I apologize for my ill-advised questions; I won't bother you with them again."

Back outside, Ethan sees the sun setting behind the shadowing mountain. His nose picks up the smells of thoroughly grilled meat, as does Russ', who sniffs the air as he exits the staircase.

"That's your summon? I knew I felt something in your shadow," Thaddeus Drevoss asks from afar. "Is it a Death Hound? There aren't many successes in hybrid monster summoning. Where did you learn to call it?"

"Russ is my bond," Ethan says. Even if he can hide his own name from Insight, he cannot alter Russ'. A window pops up before Thaddeus, validating the concern.

"A monsterized beast loyal enough to get the Ascendant talent!" the noble exclaims. "This is insane, first Razak with his Vorrclaw, and now you. How did you keep control over it after its transformation? And to such a high degree at that. It should have become completely feral."

"I used a potion of soul purity," Ethan answers. "Doesn't he scare you?"

"Before seeing his status, I thought I could take him," Thaddeus begins, pointing at the windows. "Now I'm not so sure. But he's your bond; I don't have to worry. You can even let him run around if he wants; nobody here will freak out."

Both Razak and Gulthur already saw Russ without reacting. Given the temporary nature of this place, Ethan cannot find a reason to restrain him for the feast. 'Don't go begging anyone for scraps.'

"We should get going. Orcs have a hard time leaving food for others." Thaddeus turns around and starts walking towards the banquet.

"What do you know about the curse of monstrosity?" Ethan asks.

"That the people who are both judged unworthy by the system and kill another are afflicted by it. And that you need to kill them as soon as it happens, lest they spread it to others." Thaddeus glances back at Ethan. "Why?"

"When Russ turned, he did lose his mind, and I had to fight him to get the potion down his throat. I've read about the evolution of monsters, and I am wondering if he risks another episode when that happens."

"You are lucky; I'm one of the few who can answer that question from experience," Thaddeus says.

"How so?" Ethan asks.

"My family has a monster bond; he's currently my father's. I've not seen his last evolution myself; I wasn't even born, but we wrote down everything." Thaddeus closes his eyes before quoting, "After his transformation, Sky's shenanigans grew more convoluted. Julius concluded that it was a consequence of his heightened intelligence and not an alteration of his personality."

"Shenanigans?" Ethan muses aloud.

"He … gets bored. And when he does, he tends to make his own fun," Thaddeus says. "Lately he has been misplacing people's belongings for the wrong person to find and watch the fallouts."

Ethan mutters a laugh, remembering some of Russ' kleptomaniac tendencies. "So, nothing to worry about?"

"With an obedience of ninety-five? If anything, he'll risk unlocking something more as a bonus."

They reach the banquet's space where the warriors began feasting. Orcs dig hollow horns into Razak's wine to pour the contents right down their throats. Slabs of roasted meat vanish into their maws in a display of maniacal gluttony.

'Looks like the mess after commando training,' Ethan comments to himself. When he went through it, alone, he needed to slowly re-expand his stomach after extensive starvation. But usually, the weeklong exercise results in a horde of soldiers gulping down every missed calorie. 'Is Razak starving them?'

Ghurlz, the Orc covered in scars from monster claws, approaches with clay plates. He hands one to Thaddeus and Ethan both before placing the last on the ground for Russ. "Nice Death Hound; nasty beasties, these ones."

"Thanks, I guess," Ethan says. 'Ok.'

After a sniff, Russ digs into the plate, vacuuming the slabs of meat like his life depends on it.

'Is it that good?' Ethan asks in his mind. He plucks what looks like a lamb rib from his plate and mouths it. His teeth shiver as the meat melts like butter, covering his tongue with gamey deliciousness. His etheric senses tell him the meat is densely packed with Ether. The threads escaping it as he chews descends into his body, healing some of his sores.

Ghurlz' hand grabs Ethan's shoulder like a mechanical claw. He points at the table with his other hand. "Tradition dictates that you sing us your deeds."

"Sing?" Ethan asks with a deadpan expression.

Thaddeus grins. "Mistranslation. Narrate would be more appropriate."

Ethan fakes an exaggerated sigh of relief. "I might have a few stories I can tell."

"I hope so!" Ghurlz says with a laugh. "If you got this strong without good fights, I'd believe you went to goblins."

"Goblins?" Ethan asks, glancing at Thaddeus.

"Demons," Thaddeus corrects. "But not the kind you might have heard of. Orcs have their own pantheon and legends; in some they speak of Orcs sacrificing firstborns to wild spirits for strength."

"You seem to know a lot," Ethan comments.

"He knows everything," Ghurlz mocks. He nudges Ethan forward. "He'd make you believe he knows more about your life than you do and claim it's all thanks to books."

They make their way to the tables, where another Orc shoves a tankard of wine into Ethan's free hand. His hands full, Ethan takes a seat with a wall behind it.

Orcs approach Ethan with eager looks, and humans follow with similar but fake expressions. The spread crowd turns into a dense circle around Ethan as they move the tables and sit down. Russ lies down under Ethan's chair, drawing some looks but no fear.

In the following hours, Ethan reenacts his fights with Basilisks, Skullgors, and the Leviathan. He adapts the details to fit a medieval setting but otherwise stays truthful. Instead of lying, he focuses on controlling his aura despite Razak's potent wine.

Gulthur makes a short appearance to snatch a keg of ale. Noticing him, many Orcs fall silent as he passes by, making him seem unwelcome. Ethan glances at Thaddeus for an explanation, but the noble appears as perplexed as Ethan.

After Ethan finished his stories, the Orcs continued with theirs, showing the scars they got from hunting giant beasts. They feel like knightly bodybuilders, praising the teller's deeds before shadowing him with their own.

'I can't believe these Orcs and the ones who attack Sylas' village are the same species,' Ethan thinks. He recalls his first encounter with the ravaging raiders. Having seen Orcs integrated with Amberfell's population, he wonders if they were an isolated, feral tribe. Asking the surrounding Orcs crosses his mind, but he refrains from it.

After some insistence from Ghurlz, Thaddeus tells some of his own stories. His centers on the exploration of a forgotten city, searching for lost knowledge. It doesn't enthrall the Orcs until he reaches the segment when the place's new owner attacked him – a four-winged crystalline dragon. He wasn't alone fighting it; the beast cost the lives of four adventurers and left him in a life force coma for weeks.

Ethan notices Cedric Valmont staring at him from afar, leaning his back on a shadowed wall. The lordling's eyes are turned into the yellowed, narrow gaze of a snake. He blinks, and his eyes turn back to normal.

'What are those eyes for?' Ethan ponders, making the connection with his own set of sight powers. After receiving teachings from both Alaric and Gulthur, he feels like he gained most of what this stage had to offer. If Cedric is part of the final challenge, it may be time to get things started. He takes a sip of his wine, staring back at Cedric. "Why don't you join us, lordling?"