The Stubborn Light of a Dying Flame [Isekai - LitRPG]

An excerpt from A History of Alatha by Ninala Fini

Foreward

The wasteland of Alatha forms the western edge of the known world. Sectioned off from the rest of civilization by a magical barrier to the west and the Great Wall of Canin to the east, Alatha remains isolated from the larger peoples of Ember.

Though many have tried over the centuries to reconnect our people with those beyond the wall, diplomatic missions have been unsuccessful and all attempts to approach the wall were met with deadly force. It is the belief of most that the Emberians view us as another form of monster, or perhaps, as something to be feared even more than the monsters themselves. It is a consequence of surviving the barbarism of the spawn zone that those who live in more peaceful areas would come to fear us.

There is much debate over the actual origin of Alatha, as many records were lost during a monster surge in the first century. Many believe it was originally a prison colony, formed through the banishment of political insurgents in what would later come to be known as the First Great Surge. Others believe that Alathans all descend from the Chosen. Those unlucky enough to be placed on the wrong side of the wall have always been welcomed into our midst, but there is little evidence to suggest that Alatha started in this way.

Still others claim that Alatha has always been. Though many of their beliefs are rooted in circular arguments, there is evidence to suggest that Alatha could have been the original colony of Ember that was abandoned soon after the spawn zone formed.

Without the ability to reconnect with our neighbors, the truth will likely remain a mystery, for we have limited information for what lies beyond the wall. Travelers who stumble into the wastelands don't often survive long enough to provide a source of information and the Chosen that are dropped on the plains all tell the same story: the way things were six thousand years ago when the first Chosen set foot on Ember. It seems that the System has no intention of updating the preview to match the reality of Ember. As such, it is the duty of those who were born here to teach those who were brought to this world with false promises and pretty lies.

This book aims to summarize the history of Alatha as it is known and to help the Chosen understand why they are unable to join their colleagues beyond the wall.

With the Sixth Great Surge to arrive any day, I pray that I am able to finish this book before the Chosen appear.

May the peace of the Great Keeper be with you all.

* * *

Hoka arrived late to the summons, adjusting her uniform before entering the council chamber.

A round table sat in the middle of the room, and more than forty council members—those that came from Pillan and nearby cities—sat around it, listening to Linal's report.

The jin was short, even for his own kind. He stood two and a half feet tall, choosing to use the table as his platform rather than struggle to see the rest of the council. His gangly legs and elongated arms made him look impish, but Hoka wouldn't want to meet the fierce warrior in battle. She had seen him tear through a horde of Hinans without breaking a sweat.

"—heavy Miasmic activity all across the plains," Linal was saying as Hoka took a seat.

Hoka frowned. All across the plains? Not a single location? They hadn't had a monster surge of that intensity since Hoka was a girl and this couldn't be the Great Surge. If that were the case, they wouldn't be sitting in a council chamber, they would be running out to meet the threat.

"What's the tunnel status?" Hoka asked, praying to the Great Keeper that they hadn't lost any scouts. Players with a decent stealth Class were hard to come by, especially in the wastelands, where the high density of Miasma made most magic unstable.

"That's the thing," Pilta said, answering for Linal. "The activity is on the plains, not under them. Reports say the horde is spawning above ground."

Hoka shook her head. "Monsters only spawn in the tunnels. Could it be the Chosen?"

"Not in these numbers," Ash said. "Our rough count is ten thousand, but there could be more."

"Farpointe, Keis and Ennith all sent scouts, but we haven't heard anything definitive," Linal said. "We're approaching with caution until we can ascertain the magnitude of the threat."

Ten thousand wasn't too bad if these were small creatures—they always packed less of a punch. If they were dealing with larger creatures, or creatures with hidden trump cards, that number could easily overwhelm several cities before the people of Alatha were able to stop them. It was smart to keep the scouts at a distance until they knew more.

"The fact of the matter is," Linal said. "If this is a horde of monsters, we need to adjust our preparations for the coming Great Surge. We have always relied on blocked tunnels and targeted cave-ins to keep the majority of the monsters out of reach. If they can spawn on the plains, we need to be ready for a new type of threat."

"And if it isn't a horde of monsters?" Krina asked, voicing the thoughts of everyone in the room.

The silence stretched. The Emberians had never attacked before. They stood on their wall and only came into the wastelands if the monsters got too close. That didn't stop the idea being at the forefront of every mind in Alatha. They knew that the Emberians hated them, and an invasion, though unprecedented, wouldn't surprise anyone.

"Then we prepare for that too," Linal said grimly.

"The Emberians are scared of what they know is coming," Pilta said darkly. "When the wards go down and they've lost their precious spells, they'll have their time of reckoning with the monsters they created."

"We didn't wage war in the last Great Surge and we're not going to do so now," Linal snapped. "If this is an army of Ember, we give them a chance to leave. If they refuse, we insist. If they attack, we defend."

Hoka kept her mouth shut. She didn't agree with Linal, but dissent would only lead to more bloodshed. An war was inevitable, not because Hoka or anyone else cared for the moral drought that awaited on the other side of the wall, but because the larger their numbers grew, the harder it was to grow enough food to sustain them. Too many people had survived the last Great Surge and their numbers had only grown in the last three hundred years. If the monsters didn't wipe Alatha out, starvation eventually would.

Desperation made for some pretty powerful motivation.

"Hoka, I'm sending you in first," Linal said.

Hoka blinked. "Me? Why?"

"Because you can handle yourself out there if it's a monster horde," Linal said. "And I can trust you to hold back if it isn't."

Hoka sighed dramatically. "Once again, good behavior only leads to punishment."

"Pilta, start organizing the fighters into groups and get them ready to follow Hoka's commands," Linal said. "Shi, I want you to organize the healers in case something goes wrong. Chaka, you're in charge of rear defense, be ready to evacuate the civilians from Pillan and have runners ready to spread the evacuation order to nearby cities."

Linal continued to list off orders as Hoka checked her Inventory to make sure she had her weapons in order. Her favorite weapon—the set of daggers that she could tether directly to her wrists—were with the blacksmiths being repaired, but she could settle for a mace if it came down to fighting. Or maybe she would just use her fists; it had been a long time since she had a proper hand-to-hand battle.

Linal gave the order to leave and Hoka took off without hesitation, her excitement growing at the thought of an all-out brawl. Maybe she would even find a new species of monster. New species spawning in the tunnels wasn't unheard of, but it didn't happen often. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity as she would get to name the monsters for the System if she was the first to discover them.

Hoka stopped a mile away from the monster horde. They were like nothing she had ever seen; bipedal creatures whose skin ranged in color from a light tan to a dark brown. Hair of all colors and lengths grew from their heads and Hoka couldn't see well from this distance, but some of them seemed to be wearing—

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Hoka deflated.

She was promised a horde of monsters. Instead, she got a horde of Chosen wandering around in confusion.

Hoka flashed the hand signal for 'not enemy' and approached the Chosen, wondering what they had done to deserve such a punishment from the Great Keeper. Maybe they just had crappy luck. Once a person was on this side of the wall, there was no going back across. These Chosen had just been doomed to a life in Alatha, and Alatha would be forced to house and feed them.

Hoka didn't care how weak these Chosen were, they were going to learn how to fight. Everyone in Alatha fought, it was how they had survived this long. Even the blacksmiths and bakers took turns in the tunnels.

As Hoka got closer, she realized that the Chosen weren't wandering around, they were building something. A shout of alarm went up as she was spotted and the Chosen scrambled around in terror.

Hoka sighed, activating her translation skill. Translation spells were about as reliable as anything else on the plains, but she could probably get enough conversation in to keep the poor things from dying of fright.

A line of Chosen formed around the larger group, their weapons drawn. Hoka wondered if the pitiful display was supposed to scare her.

The line doubled, then tripled as a woman shouted orders from inside the protective wall.

Hoka narrowed her eyes, her interest growing. Should she play with the Chosen a little before bringing them back to civilization? This group would undoubtedly end up with her in Pillan, Alatha's unofficial capital, which meant that she would be forced to train them all. It couldn't hurt to at least gauge their strength so she could start thinking about how to turn them into fighters.

Before she could come up with how to attack in a way that wouldn't cause any casualties, the shouting woman called an order and the defensive lines opened up enough for her and two other Chosen to walk through.

Were these their champions? They looked scrawnier than some in the defensive line and they couldn't have built up their stats to make up for the deficit in the few weeks they got for a tutorial. Ambassadors, perhaps?

The woman called something in the Chosen's language and Hoka increased her pace so she could get in range.

"I don't—she understands," the one on the right said. "Either of you—get a translation—yet?"

"Languages—not—strong point," the one on the left said. "And—not like I speak lizard."

Hoka bit back a laugh. Yndar weren't lizards, but it was an observation commonly voiced by children of other species. Perhaps these creatures were mentally incompetent.

"I am Hoka," she called. "Identify yourselves."

"Guess I should—that one coming," the man muttered. Their name tags were still visible, which wasn't surprising since the Chosen should also be subject to the freeze on Ascension.

[Patricia Holland — Level 25]

[Human]

[Robert Kirk — Level 25]

[Human]

[Helga Lind — Level 25]

[Human]

Hoka wasn't sure how to pronounce the odd names.

Thankfully, as they neared, Hoka's spell stabilized enough that she wasn't missing a third of the conversation.

"My name is Patty," the one called Patricia introduced herself. "And this is Bob and Helga." She gestured to her companions in turn.

Hoka lifted her chin, adopting a hostile tone. "What gives you the right to settle in Alathan territory?"

She couldn't help but notice that the humans were adorably small. They barely came up to her chest. They weren't even close to the jin on a scale of cuteness—though Hoka would never say such a thing out loud and incur Linal's wrath—but they were certainly one of the smaller species.

"The System dropped us here," Patty said. "But we can relocate if necessary. Can you point us in the direction of another territory?"

"Unfortunately for you, trespassers are not viewed favorably on this side of Ember. I will remove your stain so that my people can live in peace." It was becoming increasingly difficult for Hoka to resist the urge to laugh as the humans took a step back.

"We come in peace, but we're prepared to fight," Patty said carefully.

Hoka puffed out her chest. "Excellent! I'll tell you what, I'll give you an hour to prepare yourselves, then I'll attack. If you survive, you may stay."

"What level are you?" Helga asked, throwing all societal propriety to the wind.

Good. Alatha didn't need that puffed up nonsense of keeping your level secret. Every new group of Chosen tried to bring in that bit of culture from Ember and every new group of Chosen learned that Alatha was not interested in such stupidity.

Of course, Hoka didn't want to give them a heart attack…

"Level 40," she lied, sitting crosslegged on the ground. "My highest stat is Strength and I primarily fight with physical weapons, though I have been known to use spells when they are available to me. You may do with that information what you will."

Without another word the humans returned to their group, shouting orders as if their lives depended on it.

Then again, they thought their lives did depend on it. Maybe Hoka had gone a bit far with the joke. She planned on taking it easy on them, but it occurred to her that she barely remembered what it was like to be Level 40. She would have to avoid actually hitting anyone, just to make sure no one died.

Hoka flashed a hand signal to send for some healers and Linal appeared beside her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at Hoka.

"Come on, we haven't had new meat in centuries. Let me have my fun," Hoka pleaded, watching the Chosen rearrange themselves.

"We should be trying to get them back into Ember," Linal said, ever the optimist. "The Chosen have no business on this side of the wall."

"We knew we would get some of them, at least," Hoka reminded him. "The size of the group doesn't change the fact that they're our problem now. No one in Ember will take them."

"I hate to admit it," Pilta said, coming up on Hoka's other side. "But these ones might be the lucky ones. I don't even want to imagine what hell the Emberians have in store for the Chosen."

They had no proof that the Emberians had taken the growth delay badly, but there was no doubt in Hoka's mind that the Chosen were being turned away at every gate, run out of every territory. Pilta was likely correct: Patty and her group would find more welcome here than anywhere else on the planet.

As the minutes ticked by, more people came to watch the spectacle. Some thought that Hoka was being cruel, while others were taking bets on how many would die before the healers got to them.

Hoka regarded these bets with contempt; as if she didn't know how to hold back when dealing with a weaker opponent. She had sparred with each and every one of them and they were all still breathing.

Perhaps they had forgotten why Hoka was considered one of the strongest warriors in Pillan. She would remind them soon enough—when there were less innocents in the blast range.

At the end of the promised hour, Hoka approached the group, cracking her knuckles.

Patty shouted something and a glittering ward appeared around the Chosen.

Hoka raised her eyebrows. The shield was surprisingly sturdy for the wastelands. It looked like one of Hoka's wards, but even with the combined effort, it was paper thin.

Hoka picked up a rock and tossed it in the air to test its weight. She threw it, knocking out the shield with ease. She made sure to aim above the Chosen and the rock landed more than a hundred yards past their huddle, digging a long line in the dirt.

Patty shouted again and this time arrows flew through the air, some missing their target by several yards.

Weapons practice was going to be necessary in the coming weeks, Hoka observed.

She caught a few of the projectiles in the air, knocking the rest aside as she continued to advance. She threw the arrows she had caught at the ground and they stuck a few feet from the Chosen, making them shift uneasily.

Patty shouted again and a flurry of spells bombarded Hoka. She paused to focus on what she was being attacked with. The standard Fireball was by far the most common. She resisted several status effects that promised a good range of specialties, and vines grew out of the ground, gripping Hoka's legs. She broke through them easily, but there was a promising plant mage among the Chosen as well.

It seemed the humans were gifted magically. Hoka had never seen so many stable spells. Hopefully they could help with the food shortage.

She stopped about a hundred yards from the attacking army, watching them grow increasingly desperate. Bob leaned in to whisper in Patty's ear, and she nodded in response.

What were they planning?

"Molotov!" Patty yelled.

Hoka frowned. She should be in translation range at this point. Was Molotov a name, maybe?

A single bottle was launched at Hoka, its arching path easy to follow. Hoka caught it, examining the burning piece of linen that had been stuffed into the projectile's opening.

As soon as the fire reached the bottle it exploded, sending fire and shards of glass flying everywhere.

Hoka's HP actually dropped a few points, and she burst out laughing as several more of the bottles were sent her way. She clutched her side, trying to stem the torrent of laughter that threatened to take more of her HP than the human's devices. The fire died down long before Hoka's laughing fit.

She froze, feeling the cold steel of a dagger prick the back of her neck.

"We win," Helga said, fear obvious in her voice, though she was trying to hide it. "If you were really Level 40, you would already be dead."

It was a gutsy move, Hoka had to admit, albeit an underhanded one.

Monsters didn't fight fair either.

Hoka grinned, showing teeth. "I surrender."

Helga removed the dagger and moved back several feet before waving to the Chosen.

Cheers broke out in the group and a few people nearly fainted in relief. Patty and Bob joined Helga, still treating the situation with caution despite their victory.

"A deal is a deal," Patty said. "You won't try to kill us in our sleep?"

"Hoka was just having a bit of fun at your expense," Pilta said, startling them with his sudden appearance.

"Though I wonder why she thought it was appropriate or advisable," Linal commented. "We have healers if you have any wounded."

"She didn't even hit us," Bob said. "That's what tipped us off to this being a test. If she wanted to kill us, she would've used that first rock."

Hoka nodded. "I might have shown my hand a little early, but it was the fastest way to drop your shield. Don't rely on wards to protect you, first lesson of System combat."

Patty nodded. "If we were stronger, we would have started with other forms of defense. Shields cost too much Mana to be worth it in most fights."

"I have a feeling I'm going to like you," Hoka commented.

"How many people are in your group?" Linal asked, ruining the moment.

"A little under five hundred," Patty said.

"There are more on the plains," Pilta pointed out. "I'll get a search party together. They won't last long if we leave them alone."

Linal nodded. "In the meantime, I would be interested to hear how these incendiary devices work. Is it a delayed-action explosion spell?"

"Alcohol in a bottle," Bob said. "Turns out our Tutorial Leader brought a good supply. Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest."

Hoka picked up one of the bottles that hadn't exploded. "It's settled. The three of you are staying with me."