NOVEL NEXT Chapter 209: Jornlorn Rown
"Do any of you know anything about Jornlorn? I'm going to guess maybe Pryte or Elody, but I'll understand if even neither of you two do," Morkand asked. His tone had grown somber. He had a look on his face that I recognized. It was one of grief and loss. They had clearly been close friends.
"I don't, but then again, I've never been much into the paladin cultures," Pryte answered.
"I only knew his name, and that the class was lost. I wasn't even aware of how long ago, or how he had died. Though documenting all known paladin orders is a future goal," Elody followed.
"As I expected, which makes a lot of sense, as most of the general knowledge of his deeds was strongly clamped down on by several factions. Jornlorn was not the first paladin of agriculture, but he did live the longest," Morkland said.
"Alright, so I get that the reasons that could make someone with Cecile's power be in such danger. What I want to know is how much danger he will be in, in the immediate future. For now, we have a lot to do just to stabilize our own food supplies and begin to terraform other local planets. Is that enough on its own to draw the attention of people who want him dead?" I asked, wanting to cut to the point.
I needed to know if Cecile was safe here. While I did care about the other people he could potentially feed as well, I would do what I could to protect the brothers. They had been my first and strongest allies within the Spiral. They were almost like my own kids, and I sure as well wasn't going to put Cecile in a death sentence just to speed up our own future growth.
"In the immediate? Unlikely to be of great concern. The moment any of his abilities start to proliferate beyond your faction's sphere of control, though? A great many of the mercantile factions will immediately take notice, shortly after the even less savory ones will, until finally you have the biggest, most fascistic monsters coming to flay your young paladin alive," X-Xwq said, now looking like a Twinoge, with both heads speaking at the same time.
Cecile's eyes went wide, as there was a moment of silence before he finally replied to the paladin of anarchy's words. "Is that how Jornlorn died?" he asked, visibly swallowing deeply after he did.
"We don't know," Matthew answered.
"We may not know, but I'll sure as hell know this time. Kid, if it comes to it again, I'll be here ready to die with you. Jornlorn was one of the best people I have ever known," X-Xwq loudly proclaimed, still in the Twinoge form. It was the longest his form had stayed constant that I had seen so far.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I don't think Cecile needs to be so terrified of the future yet. For one thing, there is much to do in this universe before he needs to do anything on the Spiral stage," Bass added, their voice still managing a slight soothing rush of air despite the effects of the room we were in.
"Okay, you all said something about a will. How about we get to that before we scare Cecile anymore?" I asked.
While I appreciated X-Xwq's pledge, it was growing annoying how much fear they were likely causing Cecile. He wasn't naive. He almost certainly understood the intent of the larger factions on a deep personal level far more than I did. The problem was that many people mistook kindness for naivety. It was something others had similarly accused me of in the past.
"Yes, I agree with Dave. There is no sense in scaring Cecile with the unknowns. Roril, would you do the honors?" Morkland asked, turning to the squirrel-like paladin of conservation.
"I suppose, I would like to get through this and meet your planet's primals sooner rather than later." A piece of paper suddenly appeared in the paladin's hands as he spoke. He looked down at it and began reading. "To whoever follows in my footsteps, I welcome you to the order. If this letter is being read to you, then the things I have grown to fear have come true. The Spiral is not kind to those who wish to change things, but know that you are not alone in that pursuit. I have met many who sit on the fringes working toward such goals. No matter how impossible the odds often seem, they continue their work. One such person is the reason I have written this will. They have convinced me that my time is drawing near to a close, and I wish to pass on some manner of help to the next generation as best I can."
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A cough from X-Xwq interrupted the reading. Morkland's head turned immediately, glaring at the paladin, now in the form of a chair, resting on another chair. "Sorry, dry throat," he replied.
Before I could dwell on what exactly that had been about, Roril resumed the reading. "I have placed a series of remnants of myself within hidden caches across both the Spiral and chaotic space. Everyone you find should greatly aid you in your future endeavors. The first comes with this message and will help you should you ever need to create your plan to ensure the future of the next paladin. I leave these words with some of my most trusted friends and allies. X-Xwq, assuming you're here. Shut the hell up."
"What the fuck? Does it actually say that? Jornland, you asshole!" X-Xwq yelled in response before anyone else could say anything. The chair looked to be somehow be smiling despite the words.
The paper in Roril's hands suddenly glowed bright red and ignited. The flames hovered in the air above the table, and in their heart, a face formed. It seemed to scan the room before, coming to rest its flickering eyes on Cecile.
"You hold the proper class," the voice said.
"Uh, what's going on?" Cecile asked, looking from the flames to the other paladins and back. They looked just as surprised as he did.
"I am a small portion of what remains of Jornlorn. The first that he set aside of himself to help guide you. My existence here likely means X-Xwq reacted as needed. Thank you, old friend. My homeworld will provide your next message." As these words left the flames, they collapsed into a small beam of light that shot out and hit Cecile directly in the head.
"Cecile, are you okay?" I yelled, leaping to my feet.
"I think so, just kind of understand some things better now," he replied nervously.
"He should be fine. I can feel it too. There's a new presence within our bond. I assume that it's whatever remains of Jornlorn," Elicec added.
Laughter erupted from X-Xwq. "Well, that's just perfect. He baited me and used me as the key to his damn inheritance. Oh man, I think I appreciate him more than ever. Well, that seals that. Cecile take this," the paladin, who now looked like a human, tossed a small sphere of metal that the Twinoge caught.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Use that if you need to contact me, it will only work once, so don't waste it. Alright, I'm out of here. Roril, you can do what you need to do, but I'm bored," X-Xwq said moments before vanishing.
"How exactly did he just do that? It shouldn't be possible within this room," Pryte said, looking intently at Morkland.
Instead, the answer came from Elody. "It's our own fault. We placed strong restrictions on just what can be done in this room. His own abilities would make it easier for him to slip through them."
"Yes, it's one of the reasons his order even manages to survive, given their reputation. They aren't exactly liked by those in power," Morkland followed up.
Pryte sighed loudly. "Look, we already have a ton of problems going on for this faction, so don't take this the wrong way, but could you please try not to add anymore to the growing shitpile we already have?"
"We have no other gifts for you, if that is what you are worried about. Matthew and I will depart through the traveler's gate shortly. I believe Morkland will remain with Roril a bit longer, though," Bass answered.
"That's not a good idea. We've had to seal that off," I started to say before Matthew cut me off.
"We are aware, and I have business on the otherside of that gate. Bass has kindly offered to accompany me to assess just how bad the threat has grown. I appreciate the warning, but we can handle getting ourselves through the gate. We will not interfere with your seal. I just need to see where the gate itself is."
"Connie, could you show them the way? We will take these two to the moose, which I assume is what they want," I said, looking at the still starstruck dwarf.
"Oh yeah, of course," she replied, a smile crossing his lips, as she quickly got to her feet and walked the two paladins from the room.
"While I do very much wish to meet this moose, it is not the only creature on your planet that has started to awake. Primals tend to come in pairs, and I can sense another one. Who are the natural predators of moose on this world?" Roril asked.
"Moose don't exactly have natural predators. Due to their size, they are one of the strongest animals on the planet. Wait, do you mean the polar bear Rabyn fought?" I asked. That animal had seemed different, but I didn't think they were a primal mana beast.
"Possibly, I would need to see it to be sure. Are there any other creatures that prey on moose?" he asked.
I racked my brain for the answer, and then it dawned on me. There was one other animal that sometimes ate moose. "Orcas," I answered.
Of the esoteric magics, one of the rarest forms is that of card magic. As with any of the stranger sources of magic power, the wielders forgo the use of mana orbs and, in this case, use cards to bestow upon themselves their abilities. In some of the most powerful cases, the cards appear to even be a sort of equipment that grants further abilities to the wearer. The scariest ones, though, are the ones that are somehow able to use their cards to summon monsters. A deck of the most dangerous mana beasts you can imagine, just waiting for the moment to be unleashed on an unsuspecting person, is an incredibly potent weapon.
Magica Esoterica Volume 1: Deckbuilders by Averew