Capítulo 5: Enter
Through the darkness, Aldric saw a scene almost frozen in time. A massive chasm etched on the earth. Leading to depths unknown. It seemed that even light could not travel through it. A gaping cavity that scarred the landscape. The weird thing was that Aldric could tell he was not watching this in person. It played like a movie in his mind.
All of a sudden, Aldric first noticed the sky flickering from night to day at incredible speeds. Like a flickering LED. It reminded him of the tale from Nordic mythology. The two wolves said to chase the sun and moon respectively. This passage of time was not limited to the sky. The limited fauna on the barren tundra disappeared only to return a second later. Like a sick cycle of life and death. Even the chasm was slowly patching itself together at a snail's pace. It made sense because of how slow the natural erosion of rock is.
In the corner of his eye, he noticed a colossal pyre made of bones. He could barely make out the type but could notice the varying shapes of skulls as nightmare creatures. As the pile shrank due to the reversal of time, he could see some human shaped skulls at the base. Acting as a sick foundation for the monument.
In the blink of an eye, he noticed a behemoth of a worm journey from the far edges of the landscape toward the chasm. He could see the gargantuan worm fall into the chasm in reverse. At the same time, all the surrounding rubble knitted itself in mid air and closed the massive chasm. Leaving a smooth small mountaintop empty. Like nothing had happened.
He surveyed the barren tundra with full attention. He could tell that even if there was no life on the surface, the landscape had an ominous feel to it. His instincts told him there must be creatures of unknown origins under the surface. Like an ant hill.
Then time stopped for the last time. Aldric felt his soul sink from the sky he was viewing the scene from straight down through the mountaintop.
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"Are you listening boy". A rough voice spoke.
"Yes. I am sir." Aldric responded instinctively.
His eyes adjusted to the boundless darkness that surrounded them. They must have been in a large cavern, Aldric theorised. The only source of light was the primitive torch that the man held. Before taking in his surroundings more, he noticed just how well his eyes adapted to the dark. Almost scarily so. Like he could see much further than what the torch lit up.
The middle aged man in front of him stood tall and strong. Adorned in a mix of animal furs, he looked very rough and primitive. With straw like black hair combed into a bun, he had visible dust and mud covering his body. He was extremely pale. Pale like he had never seen the sun in his life.
Aldric was brought out of his observations by the man talking.
"Tonight is the night that you undergo the initiation. You have shadowed me for over 20 hunts. You may return with any creature you think could feed the tribe. If you succeed, you will have completed the initiation. As a reward for your efforts, you will join the ranks of the hunter troop. Should you fail, may you return to the earth's cold embrace."
Aldric suddenly felt a spike of bloodlust aimed at him. He had never felt anything like it in all his training.
"Should you return to the tribe alive without a kill, then I will feed you to the insect colonies myself. Do you understand boy?" spoke the man resolutely with a manic look in his eye.
"Yes..... Yes sir" exclaimed Aldric in fear.
"You have until the fat of this torch completely burns out." The man said while handing the torch over to Aldric.
Suddenly, he turned the opposite way and maneuvered through the darkness like a fish in the sea.
Now left alone, Aldric calmed his breath and surveyed the surroundings for any dangers.
"All clear." He exclaimed.
He looked down and observed himself. Adorned in the same type of clothing as the hunter man, he focussed on how he felt. He could tell he was the same height and had no abnormalities or defects. One thing he could tell was that he was much lighter. Not skinny by any means. He was still lean but lacked a lot of the muscle mass he trained hard to achieve.
On his waist, there was a 20-inch weapon covered by a leather sheath. He removed the sheath and looked at it. It was a long sharp tooth sculpted into the shape of a dagger. Aldric was relieved to be armed in this unknown cavern.
With the coast clear, Aldric could finally view something. Something that would determine his destiny. His aspect and his attributes. He understood that his aspect would evolve should he perform adequately in this nightmare. And he aimed to do so. However, He was aware of the importance of his aspect even before its evolution.
The best example of this would be Sunless. His aspect "Temple Slave" evolved to the divine rank. This unprecedented boon could have given him an aspect like Shadow Lord or Prince of Shadows. However, he received the aspect Shadow Slave. An amazing aspect, full of potential and utility. However, he was still a slave. Causing Sunless endless grief.
That's part of the reason Aldric trained so hard. For the nightmare spell to respect his efforts and place him in a body fitting his capabilities. Aldric did not want to be described as a "useless wretch".
"Enough". Aldric exclaimed as he calmed his racing thoughts.
"The moment of truth."
"Status"
Capítulo 6: Status
"Status"
Aldric said with the visualisation of a status screen in his mind.
Name: Aldric.
True Name: —
Rank: Aspirant
Soul Core: Dormant.
Memories: —
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Insight],[Clear Mind],[???].
Aspect:[Bounded Cavedweller].
Aspect Description:[A primitive being, ignorant of where he comes from and where he is headed. His connection to the darkness is faint but undeniable.]
"Okay"
Aldric stared into the mysterious runes. He started to make some connections vaguely. Firstly, his aspect seemed bland at first glance. He could see the potential his connection to darkness could have when his aspect evolves. He thought about how specifically he could have such a connection. As Aldric mentioned before in a previous train of thought, an aspect is a confluence of one's innate affinities and choices manifested as a magical specialization. Attributes often follow this path. Nephis' innate attribute [Dreamspawn] gave her a trait of duality. This could be the reason behind her receiving an aspect described as being a creature of duality—half profane and half-divine.
'I can think about this later.' He thought.
He focussed on the description of the attributes.
[Insight] Attribute Description: "You have always had acute awareness and intuition. Guiding you with a subtle sense of the unseen."
Aldric could instinctively recognise this as his innate attribute. He always prided himself on his intuition. He would say it was one of his strongest assets if asked. He was happy that the nightmare spell acknowledged his ability. It also gave him something to look forward to with its possible evolution. Aldric was content.
He viewed the description of his second attribute.
[Clear mind] Attribute Description: "Your mind calms all the waves that threaten it."
A rather simple description. Aldric did not recognise how he could have received this. He concluded it must belong to the original body.
Finally, he viewed his last attribute.
[???].
"Huh?" exclaimed Aldric.
"Does that mean I can't understand it".
A lick of flame brushed further into his field of vision than usual. Reminding him of his imminent deadline.
"I can strategise later"
The young teenager stepped cautiously through the open cavern. He kept the torch a short distance from himself by extending his hand.
Like a crude labyrinth, Aldric could see multiple openings in the cavern wall 30 meters ahead. He counted 3. Analysing them on the surface, they seemed rather conspicuous.
He set his sights on the left entrance.
All of a sudden, he felt a warm pulse of discomfort spread from his gut.
He compared it to what you feel when in the moment between tripping and finding something to catch your fall.
It left as quickly as it came but the uneasiness was still present.
"What the hell was that?"
His focus shifted to the middle entrance and felt nothing.
Not a single feeling from his gut.
'Odd' he thought
Finally, he looked at the last entrance.
Immediately, panic spread through his body as a sharp feeling spread from his gut. Not a physical pain but something his body could still register. He couldn't think of anything to compare it to.
After being given enough time to feel the panic, a cold and refreshing feeling washed over him like a gentle wave. Calming his mind.
The aspirant knew that this was the work of his attributes [Insight] and [Clear mind].
'At least they have some synergy.' Aldric mused.
[Insight] seemed to be warning him of the first and last entrance with varying intensity. The middle one seemed to be completely safe.
It was a simple choice to make.
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"Tap"
"Tap"
Footsteps echoed through a small space. A hunter seemed to be in complete focus. Throwing away any errant thoughts, he made his way through the winding tunnel whilst on the lookout for any prey.
" I haven't seen anything capable of being my kill." He spoke to himself.
"Aside from the occasional insect of unknown origin, nothing has caught my attention. It makes me think why my intuition told me this was a dangerous path." He sighed.
Yes.
You see, Aldric recognised that the safest option was not always the correct one. The middle entrance while safe would not have given him a kill worthy of the man's standards. So he chose the entrance with the least but present danger. Something with enough challenge.
Not regretting his choice just yet. He continued undisturbed. Hoping to find something. His torch seemed to burn with less life to it.
Time was ticking.
Finally, he heard a scurry sound to his right. With a closer look. he noticed a large burrow hidden in the corner. It was large enough to fit 3 grown men with room to spare.
It reminded him of the burrows made by soldiers back home for a more hidden vantage point. He focussed on where he heard the noise. There it was.
A horrid creature.
Looking like a crossbreed between a rat, hare, and a capybara, the creature had a rough brown hide that was matted in dirt, feces, and other revolting substances. The worst thing was its exaggerated size. It looked 6 feet long and had the same thickness a bear would have. More so, with a large hump on its back.
Its beady black eyes reflected the light right back as it stared at the source. With long stiff whiskers like cable, the beast's grotesque mouth had rotted teeth visible with two long sharp fang-like front teeth.
He looked around to see if it was just the both of them. They were alone. With his enhanced insight, he could tell at first glance that this creature was the one.
With his heart racing, he reached for his dagger. Aldric noticed his arm trembling.
'NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE SCARED' he affirmed to himself with panic.
But no matter what he said to himself, he just couldn't stop his body from reacting in fear.
After all, this feeling is a primitive characteristic found in all humans. Fight or flight. The boxing champion would still be anxious for his 51st bout even after winning the last 50 right?
This was Aldric's first meeting with a nightmare creature.
He envisioned the attribute [Clear Mind] in his mind's eye.
Inhale.
Exhale.
With a wave of tranquility spreading through his body, a sharp look of resolve was etched on his face. Like a lighthouse in a storm, he was unwavering.
He gripped his dagger.
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