The Weirkey Chronicles: Chapters 3-5 (Patreon)

Second set of chapters! I'll keep posting 2-3 of them per week until the book is done, which will be sooner than with a SC book. Though I prefer posting weekly, I'll post chapters more frequently on RoyalRoad starting... sometime soonish. My plan is for patrons to stay roughly five chapters ahead of the public postings, but that amount will vary throughout the week.

That said, chapters first, blurb stuff later.

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Chapter 3

Eventually everyone had gathered themselves and the few minor injuries had been healed. Several local villages offered wagons and the Farmguards formed them into a caravan. The youngest and oldest rode, but the others walked. Local farmers frequently called greetings, and many spoke to one another, but Theo simply followed and continued gathering his thoughts.

When he'd first come to the Nine, he'd been obsessed with becoming a soulcrafter, but now, he knew better. The transition was relatively easy, but meaningless. Without any soulhome at all, the new potential had nowhere to go, so it was the only ascension with no immediate impact, nothing but an invitation.

So more important than becoming a soulcrafter was finding the sublime materials that could properly build his soulhome. He could use anything from Tatian for the walls and chambers, but he needed something special to establish his essential core. The rest could be changed later, but the foundation and core chamber were essential. His lack of experience before had limited him on the higher tiers, so he'd put thought into avoiding the same problems.

Once he had a proper foundation and materials, he could easily step into his soul and build several chambers. Simple rooms to increase his strength, durability, and speed, just enough to make him less vulnerable. That would be enough to find better materials and truly soulcraft himself.

This time, he intended his central chamber to be focused on his defense. If he soulcrafted enough defenses, he would be able to survive in combat against opponents at a tier higher than him instead of burning alive in their auras. In his previous life, he'd been mostly focused on speed, but that hadn't done much good against superior opponents. It was too easy to craft speed chambers and he had been too vulnerable to a surprise attack.

Theo wandered along with the main caravan, thinking through the exact design of his soulhome. He'd had a lot of time to consider what Brigana had recommended, and though he'd polished and developed the idea, the core of her blueprint remained. This time, he would become a soulcrafter of the Dominion tier and beyond.

Thinking of Brigana eroded his plans with familiar pain. Though he wanted to believe that she had somehow survived, he knew that it was essentially hopeless. She had sacrificed herself for him and he owed it to her to make that sacrifice worth it.

But there were too many questions. In all the years he'd thought about his experiences, the only thing he was sure of anymore was that he had been lied to, then betrayed. He was familiar with many aspects of the Nine, but he needed to throw away what he knew about Vistgil and the demons. Something deeper was afoot and he'd only been a pawn in someone else's game. That fact would burn in his mind until he finally had his revenge.

Since the caravan moved so slowly, Theo was able to advance ahead and investigate the surrounding landscape. It was mostly the same endless farms and dirt roads, but he spotted a copse of trees with leaves that flickered like flames. Just what he needed. As soon as he could sneak away, Theo ducked into the nearest field and rushed along it toward the trees.

No one was really watching him, and the villagers would no doubt have given him whatever he asked for. Not that it would have changed what he was going to do. He didn't know how long he had, so he needed to obtain sublime materials by any means necessary.

Reaching the copse unseen, Theo began to search through the fiery leaves. He saw a few unripe pieces of fruit, but those would never do. Eventually he found what he needed in the upper boughs of one of the central trees. The leaves brushed against him, uncomfortably warm, and he retrieved several of the burning spheres.

Flamefruit were one of the best sublime materials available on Tatian, for young soulcrafters. Theo stared down at the fruit in his hands, marveling at the light burning from within and the tongues of flame licking over the peel. Yet despite their exotic appearance, he felt nothing from them except slightly warm fruit. For a moment he doubted himself, even though he knew that it was only that he lacked a soulcrafter's senses. These were what he needed.

Each fruit, when consumed by a soulcrafter, would enter a soulhome and serve as a strengthening material. He couldn't build a soulhome out of them, but they would be helpful for generating cantae. Though Theo only needed a few, he took as many as he could carry, since they might be traded to other soulcrafters. Soon he'd stripped the trees bare of all the ripe flamefruit.

He worried that someone would catch him in the act, the old Farmguard or one of the other travelers, but Theo managed to return to the caravan without anyone noticing him. Unable to find a proper pack, he dumped the flamefruit into an empty bag he found on one of the wagons. That was something else he would need to acquire, but it was a trivial detail compared to proper sublime materials.

Just as Theo was beginning to feel satisfied with himself, he saw a soft glow from one of the wagons ahead. One of the Farmguards sat in the center of a wagon, sliding into his own spirit as he began to soulcraft. Soon only a distorted shadow of himself remained, glowing a warm orange.

And that was all Theo could see. Most soulcrafters would only practice their craft in private to avoid anyone else examining them too closely. If Theo had been able to see, he would have looked past the blurry remnant and into the private world that was the man's soul. There he would have been able to see the core of the man's power in concrete form, built from sublime materials over many years.

Instead, he saw only the spiritual haze. That was to be expected, but Theo found himself unexpectedly bitter. There was so much he needed to recover, but just recovery would not be nearly enough...

As soon as the vast sun began to set, the Farmguards lit fires and began the evening meal. Though Theo had remembered that journeys tended to go slowly in Tatian, he'd forgotten how much of it was due to the relaxed pace of life. Of course, for them, they were hurrying to their destination, but that didn't mean traveling in the dark or skipping a meal.

Since staying with the group was still his best chance of moving forward, Theo simply retreated from the fires as they grew warm and boisterous. Away from the others, he could enjoy a slightly cool breeze. It rustled through the crops, sending their dark forms into a quiet dance.

He realized that it was only the end of his first day back in the Nine Worlds. Not a shocking start, but his first trip had been the explosive one. This time, he needed to survive in the long term. That would require far more strategy.

When he spotted a figure standing beside one of the fields, he knew that it must be Fiyu. He hadn't intended it, but it was unsurprising that she would have sought the darkness away from the fires. More notably, she had finally unwrapped her head and instead wore the blindfold that he'd made for her. Her slender face turned toward him and she smiled.

"Hello, Jake. It is less blinding now, but I hope that it will become dark soon."

"It won't get much darker than this." He stepped up beside her and stared skyward. "As the sun fades, the stars and moons come out, and they're very bright here."

"Oh. That is disappointing." Her dismay could not have been clearer on her face, even without being able to see her eyes, and Theo wondered if she'd ever had a need to hide her emotions. "Can you truly help me soulcraft a chamber to reduce this light?"

"You'll need to help me, and we'll need the proper materials, but yes."

"I hope that we can do so." Fiyu's head shifted away from him, one ear cocked toward the bonfire and the celebration around it. "They seem to be very happy."

"Yeah, that's how Tatian is."

"Are they a cult?"

Theo coughed in surprise, quickly swallowing his reaction. After clearing his throat, he shook his head out of habit before answering. "No, you will find that these things are normal here. The worlds are different in more than a few colors."

"So it seems." Fiyu's head drooped and she began to play with a strand of midnight black hair. "I hope that my relative comes for me soon, but I fear that this strange world is too far."

"Why not prepare for him meanwhile? He's training you as a soulcrafter, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then impress him with how much you've grown in another world." Theo reached into his sack and pulled out one of the flamefruit, offering it to her. "Take a look at this. It's a local sublime material given to young soulcrafters, but I think that for you it will be more challenging. Please, take it."

"A gift?" Fiyu reached out, delicately retrieving the flamefruit while staying as far from skin contact as possible. She frowned as she ran her fingers over the surface. "How strange. I am not sure if I will be able to use it in my soulhome."

Fiyu didn't hesitate, however, raising the flamefruit to her lips and tearing a piece from the side. It was sensible not to leave sublime materials unused where they could be easily stolen, so he approved. She rapidly consumed the fruit including the core and the stem, every bit of its power passing into her soul. Theo realized that he remembered many details about the strengths and weaknesses of flamefruit, but nothing about their taste.

"You are a kind traveler, Jake." Fiyu turned to regard him with a slight smile. "I hope that we can speak in the future. But for now, I am very weary from all the people."

"Yeah, I get that." Theo saw that she didn't understand, but didn't care. He just waved farewell and turned away. "You have fun soulcrafting."

Though he moved away, he did look over his shoulder. There was no glow or anything else to announce the transition, Fiyu's body simply faded into wisps of shadow. Her technique transitioning to her soulhome was flawless, so her mentor had trained her well. She might be on par with some of the Farmguards in terms of strength, but there was no question that she was destined for more.

If there was such a thing as destiny at all. Theo doubted it, all the more so after forty years on Earth. As he found a place to sleep among the wagons, he hoped that those miserable years had finally come to an end.

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Chapter 4

Over the next several days, Theo followed the caravan and gathered what sublime materials he could. The little farms and villages along their path contained nothing truly valuable, even for the first tier of soulcrafting, much less Archcrafter materials or beyond. But considering that he had nothing and he would need significant materials to establish himself, it was worth it.

His most valuable find was actually given freely instead of stolen. Their caravan passed a village with a dying hearthtree, and before the villagers planted the new sapling, they cut down the old and distributed the wood. Though the local Farmguards took the first pick, they had more than enough, so they shared the rest with some of the soulcrafting guests.

Theo received several planks of the dark wood, which would be plenty once converted in his soulhome. He was one of the few who couldn't use them, so he added them to his sack and slept on it just in case anyone had theft in mind. The Farmguards seemed to have taken his suggestion to heart, however, and shepherded the new generation of potential soulcrafters.

Their caravan stopped at a larger village where it was entirely reshuffled. Most of the Deuxan travelers headed down a separate road toward the gate back to their world, but their numbers were replaced by new groups. It seemed that people had been falling into Tatian over a large area, so they were being gathered before heading to a larger city.

Most of the new arrivals were the usual mix of normal people, though there was one resident of Aathal. Though Theo briefly thought of Khaluu, they were entirely different species, so he soon set them aside. Instead, he focused his attention on a young man who was... wrong somehow.

Something about the way he leaned against the wall with his hands stuck in his belt was distinctly Earth-like. Or perhaps it was the way he stared over everything without the slightest surprise. Though he didn't seem to be a soulcrafter, he moved with confidence and immediately began gathering sublime materials.

In other words, they were exactly the same.

Though Theo considered keeping his distance out of caution, he decided that he couldn't overlook this opportunity. He'd heard of other world travelers from beyond the Nine, and even suspected one or two might have been from Earth, but he'd never been able to talk to any of them at length. His ultimate goal was to learn the truth, so this was an excellent chance.

"Hi there." Theo picked a quiet evening to walk up to him, polite smile fixed on his face. "This is crazy stuff, isn't it? I'm Jake."

"I am Magnafor." The other traveler fixed him with an imperious look, but Theo just kept smiling.

"Hi, Magnafor. Where are you from?"

"My home is a world very far from here, one you would likely not have heard of. So I have a long jour-"

"You sound like you're from New York."

Instantly Magnafor - though that was obviously not his name - shifted his stance. One hand clenched as if it expected a weapon, but neither of them were soulcrafters and they had nothing but their fists. Theo just stared at him with the same polite smile on his face, not giving an inch. Eventually Magnafor glanced around them and spoke in a lower voice.

"Don't draw attention to us, idiot. We'll have enough trouble as it is."

"Trouble?" Theo asked. The other traveler gave a strange shrug.

"I'm guessing this is your second time? You're too calm for it to be your first, and you're not terrified enough for it to be your third." Magnafor stepped closer to him, voice dropping to an even lower growl. "I'm not going to be your friend, and you're on your own after this. But you need to know that this isn't going to be easy, even if you get an Artifact of Elghiera. When you return here, you have a target on your back."

"Huh." Though that was troubling, Theo decided to play it cool. He wasn't sure if the crimson ring had been one of these "artifacts" but he could pretend it was. "The first time I arrived, I was given an artifact. You?"

"Yeah, that's how it usually goes. A man named Vistgil, right? It took me all the way to the Dominion tier, but I got overconfident and one of those high tier demons got me."

"Pretty much the same for me." He kept his expression neutral, though Magnafor had just casually said he'd attained a higher tier of power than Theo ever had.

"I thought I was dead, but it turned out that I'd just gone into a coma back on Earth. From what I've been able to tell, that's pretty rare. It took me almost a year to find a way back to the Nine."

Theo listened quietly, realizing that he might actually have the edge in knowledge. It was possible that Magnafor was withholding information, but the other man had said nothing about the pale world beyond the Nine and he hadn't met Vistgil again. But the fact that the mysterious man was intentionally meeting visitors from other worlds justified the conversation, plus Magnafor had implied he was on his third visit.

"The second time, I thought I had everything figured out. Grabbed a bunch of sublime materials, just like we're doing now. But... something was different." Fear slid over the surface of Magnafor's hard eyes. "It's like we're lodestones for trouble, demons appearing way too often. I think we're not meant to travel between worlds like this, and the more we do, the worse it gets. Even though I did everything right, I struggled through Archcrafter. I managed to reach Ruler, but I couldn't keep up and failed to make the big jump to Authority."

"But you found your way back a third time?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, but it wasn't easy. Took almost six months of constant searching. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I think someone was trying to track me down in the real world. It's... no, I don't wanna talk about it. Just be careful. Don't trust anyone from Earth, because I think they're looking for us."

"Thanks... Magnafor."

"You might want to think about getting another name, even if this is your second visit. I wouldn't count on getting a third, either." Magnafor shook his head, then pulled away. "That's all I know, and it's all I'm giving you. If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

Theo nodded understanding and let the other man stalk away, but his thoughts turned inward. Over his forty years on Earth, he'd tried to find others who had visited the Nine and been repeatedly disappointed. A few who claimed to know other worlds were almost certainly delusional. When he'd researched the subject, there had been some myths that he thought might have reflected reality, but nothing modern.

It surprised him that Magnafor had managed to reach the Nine three different times. Theo's surge of bitterness surprised him, thinking about the forty years he'd struggled to return while Magnafor had simply stumbled into two more doors. Even though he was technically more experienced, Magnafor was really just a kid.

But he'd had some valuable information: Vistgil had still been active a few years ago, still manipulating travelers from other worlds. Maybe he actually was from Earth, maybe not: the way Vistgil had spoken about cars suggested that he knew more than he pretended. It was completely impossible to guess why he took all these actions.

One thing did seem clear: Theo had been a mistake. He should have been dead and shouldn't have been able to find his way back to the Nine.

What that meant, he wasn't sure, but the warning suggested that he needed to change his current path. His core plan remained solid, but he needed to be prepared for unexpected threats. Even if no demons appeared, he would have to deal with people like Magnafor.

Since the Tatian Farmguards wanted to spend days socializing before moving on, Theo took the time to track down the Mundhin from Arbai. He'd intended to talk to him during their journey, but he'd been busy working with the Farmguards. Now that they had stopped, he managed to find the Mundhin at the edge of town.

By now, the villagers left him alone. They wanted to be hospitable, but beings from Arbai didn't need food or water, and they didn't socialize in the same way. So the space surrounding the Mundhin was blessedly free of their chatter.

"I should have thanked you earlier." Theo walked up and sat down on the fence beside him. "I didn't even ask your name."

"I am known as Navim, and it is no trouble." The sphere of gemstones turned to regard him. "The Ichili girl was in need of assistance. I am glad that my rough construction was able to assist her, but I feel its inadequacy every time I see her wear it."

"What you made was great, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind you perfecting your craft. But what about you? Do you have a path back home?"

"There is a gate to Arbai, though it stands far away. But the inhabitants of this world have proved surprisingly accommodating. I may travel slowly and write a monograph about my experiences. Such a work would not be exceptional, but it could assist my scholarly career."

Theo nodded, patting the warm stone of the fence beside him. "I suppose this living stone would be interesting to you, wouldn't it?"

Navim let out a rumbling sigh. "The stone of Tatian has been thoroughly studied by generations past. No, all I would have to offer is my own experiences, which are not so common. Most prefer to read of other worlds instead of experiencing them."

"Well, I hope it works out for you. But I was wondering if I could ask for your help again."

"I grow weary of the simple repair jobs the Farmguards request of me. Please, speak your request."

"Tatian is fairly safe, but I'm worried about the possibility of demon attacks, especially given how many cracks formed between worlds." Theo had decided that was the best justification and resisted looking to see if Navim believed it. "What I would like is a spear made of lightweight stone, an armament for a soulcrafter."

"But you are not a soulcrafter."

"I will be, and an armament from the first tier isn't going to harm me even if I overuse it. Come on, Navim, wouldn't that be a more interesting challenge than fixing fences?"

"Hmm. I can easily craft the spear itself, and perhaps bind the concepts of force and piercing into it." Navim murmured to himself for a time, then shifted several jeweled spheres toward him. "Activating those inscriptions would likely be harmful to you, but I will trust in your good judgment."

"Thanks, Navim." Theo stayed beside him and chatted for a while longer so that it wouldn't look like he'd just wanted the spear, but that had been his goal. Navim would take several days to craft it, then he'd have a weapon that was far better than any of the primitive artifacts that could be purchased in the town.

Before they resumed their journey, Theo managed to improve his position in several other ways. He facilitated trades between the villagers and their guests, gaining a little profit each time, and soon had enough of the wooden plates used as money on Tatian. With those, he could buy something more valuable and make a greater profit. Tatian villagers might haggle cheerfully, but they didn't have many cutthroat merchants.

In the end, he finally left behind the simple clothes he'd acquired when he arrived. Instead he had pants and a tunic that wouldn't impede his movement, as well as better shoes. He also had a proper pack to store his sublime materials and a few other pieces of equipment he'd picked up. The only valuable one was a spirit chisel - it would be a useful tool for soulcrafting, once he gained the ability.

When Navim gave him a spear on the night before their departure, he almost felt prepared. Theo spun it experimentally, finding it lighter than expected despite being made of stone. He was no master with a spear, but he'd chosen it for a simple reason: with his limited training, the reach of a spear made it a far more practical weapon. Once he reached the higher tiers of soulcrafting, he would simply be able to tear enemies apart with his bare hands.

Not that it seemed likely that he would need to tear anyone apart, as their peaceful journey resumed. Theo trained a little with the spear, just to get used to the movements, but that was just developing basic muscle memory, not the advancement he really needed.

Two days later, the demons attacked.

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Chapter 5

In his past life, Theo had experienced attacks that began with demons clawing their way into a world through cracks in reality, but nothing dramatic announced the start of this one.

Just a few cries in the distance that could have been mistaken for a celebration until they saw the fires. He'd barely even noticed, focusing on his own thoughts, but then all the Farmguards began to move. When he looked up and saw something rustling through the fields, he knew that it was an attack before he saw the first demon leap out.

Though demons manifested differently in each world, this one was familiar enough: a squat body with four muscular arms that it used to race across the ground. Those arms could also grab their prey and draw them to the creature's large mouth. It leaped into the air toward the refugees with a mindless cry.

One of the Farmguards stepped into the way, striking the demon aside with her staff. It flopped into the field, but soon levered itself back to its feet. That was a bad sign: the weakest stage of demons should have been easily destroyed by soulcrafters. They were tougher and faster than most normal people, but not really a threat except in numbers.

Though he instinctively prepared his spear, Theo didn't move into battle. Base demons could sometimes be defeated by trained fighters without soulhomes, but it was a senseless risk. In his years back on Earth, he'd learned the hard way just how fragile the human body could be. Used to leaping effortlessly, he'd broken a bone in a bad landing. It could have been even worse, a wrong bump on the head potentially being fatal.

So going up against an increasing number of rabid demons? Not unless there wasn't another choice. He kept his spear ready as another demon rushed from between the bright stalks.

"The village is under attack!" A tall Tatian man leapt from one of the wagons and stomped on the demon just it emerged, splattering dark blood over the soil. "You and you, guard our guests. Farmguards and soulcrafters, with me!"

It was a sensible enough strategy, and the Farmguards hastened to act now that they had someone to follow. Theo wasn't sure how he felt about leaving only two soulcrafters to guard all the refugees, however. Base demons had nothing but mindless bloodlust, but they were scattering from the battle in all directions.

Indeed, no sooner had the Farmguards fought their way toward the village than more demons began to rustle through the fields from the side. Not overwhelming numbers, but the two Farmguards couldn't deal with them all. This could get ugly.

Taking action might be the right choice, but it could draw attention and start a panic. Before Theo could decide what to do, he saw Magnafor and a couple of others sprint away from the wagons. Their movements looked purposeful, but a few others cried out and began to retreat. It seemed like he was headed for the village, so Theo decided to keep the situation by the wagons under control.

"Stay in a group!" he called out. "We're safest if we stick together!"

Not everyone listened to him, but enough did. He saw that Fiyu was standing beside one of the wagons, shielding her eyes even though she was wearing her mask. She was the only person he knew was a soulcrafter with a useful ability, so he closed the gap to reach her even as more demons reached the Farmguards and began to attack.

"Fiyu, can you feel the difference between refugees and demons?"

"I only feel shapes, so I can discern the difference so long as the demons stay small." Her lips pressed together tightly, but not in fear. Growing up in Ichil, she would have faced worse than this. "But... my control is not very precise. I'm afraid I'll strike the others."

"Then get up high and pick them off while they're at a distance." Theo nearly patted her on the shoulder before remembering himself. Instead he gave a sharp whistle used by allies coordinating their locations. Fiyu nodded seriously and climbed up onto the highest wagon.

Meanwhile, the situation had gotten worse. The two Farmguards were drawing the majority of the demons, but not eliminating them very effectively. It seemed as though they had fully soulcrafted their first floors, which made them much stronger and faster than these lowly demons. But what they lacked was combat experience, so even if they were in little danger themselves, they failed to keep the demons away from the refugee caravan.

Growling to Theo's left drew his attention and he saw that a small pack of demons had broken away from the burning village. They had arced around the Farmguards, meaning that they were heading directly toward the wagons. He readied his spear, but knew that it wouldn't be enough...

A torrent of bolts of light seared into the group of demons, eerily silent as they tore apart flesh and bone. Fiyu had both hands raised, sending out a stream of the bolts until all the demons - and a large circle of crops around them - were annihilated. He saw that she had been right about her control: her technique appeared to trade power for accuracy.

Then suddenly there was no more time for calm strategy: there was a demon leaping at him with a snarl.

He jerked his spear like it was a sword, his old instincts failing him. The side of the stone shaft hit the demon and pushed it aside, but failed to injure it. Staggering, Theo struggled even to raise his spear again in the time that the demon flipped itself back to its feet and rushed at him.

Somehow he threw his spear up in time and the beast impaled itself on the end. Theo's fingers ached from gripping the spear and he realized that he couldn't have killed it with his own strength. Only the demon's strength combined with...

The demon reached up and clawed his arm. Theo fell back with a cry of pain, barely avoiding the next swipes of its claws. Though impaled through the center of its body, the demon wasn't dead: one blow from someone who wasn't a soulcrafter just wouldn't be enough.

There was no time to think, he just grabbed his spear and twisted it. That made the demon hiss, more anger than pain, and he felt another claw strike his leg. But he managed to jerk out the spear and then brought it down, over and over, until the demon finally stopped moving.

For a time Theo just panted for breath. His injuries burned at him now that the adrenaline had worn off, but they weren't deep enough to keep him from fighting. Or at least, as close to fighting as he could manage in this state.

With a moment to breathe, he examined the battlefield again. Fiyu still rained destruction down on demons at the periphery, but her bursts of light slowed each time, as if she was already exhausting herself. The Farmguards had dropped back to defend the caravan, but began to falter. A few of the refugees tried to fight, but only Navim was effective. Though he didn't move like a fighter, he was made of stone and the demons didn't seem capable of injuring him, at least not before he smashed them in between part of his body and the ground.

In the distance, he saw that there was no longer any fire or smoke from the village, so the situation must be under control... but there were three more demons rushing through the field toward him.

Fighting them together was suicide, but everyone else was occupied and he was all that stood between them and one flank of refugees. Theo gripped his spear tighter, fingers running over the inscription there. If he used the spear as a soulcrafter armament, it would launch forward with explosive force, but it might tear him apart as well unless he executed it perfectly. No, that was insanity. It was a cynical choice, but he needed to retreat, even if it cost the lives of other refugees.

Before he could back away, bolts of light flashed over his shoulder and smashed into the charging demons. Theo tried to move, but he was too late, feeling a bolt sear through his shoulder before he saw any sign of it. He crashed to the ground, losing his grip on the spear.

At first he just stared at the channel that had been burned out of his shoulder, the wound instantly cauterized. It had torn through him so easily... a similar bolt striking his head or chest could have killed him. Yet despite the pain, he was able to lever himself up. Fiyu had destroyed the three demons approaching, but there could be more.

"I am sorry!" Fiyu called over the battle, and when he turned to her, he saw the dismay plain on her face. His throat hurt too much to yell, so he just pointed toward the Farmguards.

Unfortunately, with the demons swarming over them, Fiyu couldn't fire indiscriminately. Her fingers twitched, as if looking for her chance, but there were no openings. The Farmguards might endure her bolts better than him, but they would still be injured, especially in their current state. Both were bleeding from multiple wounds, and his instincts wanted to help, yet he'd just gotten a good demonstration as to why jumping in was a bad idea.

When one of the Farmguards went down and a demon leapt at his face, Theo knew that he didn't have a choice. He ran in, skewering the demon in midair. Two of the remaining demons shifted to focus on him and he simply swung the skewered body into them, just trying to buy a little more time.

One of the surviving Farmguards whirled to his feet, cantae sweeping around him. In a series of vicious blows he crushed several of the demons and sent the others scattering back, tumbling over one another into a devastated section of the fields. After that, he dropped down to one knee, but the attack had finally been broken. Theo saw only one other demon, and Navim crushed it by dropping onto his back.

"You... you aren't even a soulcrafter?" The Farmguard he had saved rose to his feet, staring at him. "This bravery is madness..."

"I..." Theo still struggled to catch his breath, but smiled as he came up with a good line. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing while everyone else was fighting."

"Your bravery will not be forgotten, young traveler. We..."

Whatever else he started to say, Theo didn't hear it, because at that moment he saw something much worse. The surviving demons had gathered together, and a few more stragglers emerged from the field, but that wasn't the horrifying part. They gathered in a circle and one of them stepped forward, then suddenly crumpled up like a dying spider. Power pulsed between the demons, then a second sacrificed itself.

They were trying to summon a second stage demon.

Though the weakest of demons were creatures of mindless violence, they had another instinct: when they started to lose a battle, they began sacrificing themselves. It only took six sacrifices for them to summon a second stage demon, and a single one of those would kill all of them. Even a fully trained first-tier soulcrafter couldn't win that fight, and none of them had reached that state.

"Stop the summoning!" Theo grabbed the Farmguard's arm and jabbed a finger at the ring, where even now a third demon crumpled. "They're sacrificing themselves!"

"What? Just what... are they doing?" The Farmguard stared as if he hadn't seen it before, and there was no time even to get angry. Theo just whirled to the others and gave an urgent whistle.

"Fiyu, look!"

She noticed and understood instantly, shredding the group of demons with a hail of light. But the stream faltered out midway and, finally having emptied her soulhome, Fiyu collapsed into the wagon. Many of the demons had been killed, but a few remained. Too many.

How many sacrifices had there been? At least four, but could it be five? As the Farmguards stared in surprise, Theo realized that there was no time for anything else.

He hefted his spear one more time and ran toward the last demons. Another curled up and died... and he saw all their bodies begin to dissolve into dust. The sacrifice was complete, which meant he had only moments before the demon fully manifested. Even as he got closer, he saw it begin to form, a creature taller than most men...

Theo squeezed the inscription on the spear and thrust.

The power crafted within shot forward, exploding the forming demon's chest in a shower of ichor. But it struck his unprepared soul just as hard. Even as the dark blood struck him, Theo found himself torn away from the battle and cast deep into himself.

Darkness, but a familiar darkness.

Slowly he realized that he wasn't dead or unconscious. Theo drew hard on old instincts and opened his eyes: not his physical eyes, but those in his soul. He lay on the ground in the center of his soulhome.

It was almost nothing at this early stage, just a circle of brown grass that faded into nothingness in all directions. In his last life, the grass inside his soul had been green. Overhead, clouds roiled so close he could have jumped to touch them. Those embodied the limits of his current tier, which also meant that he'd become a soulcrafter.

Use of a soulcrafter armament was one of the methods of awakening as a soulcrafter, though not an advised one. Theo wanted to examine his soulhome for any potential injuries or begin all his plans, but as his disorientation faded, he realized that there was no time. Outside his inner world, his body would be a form of glowing light, and demons loved to feed on soulcrafters in the middle of their work.

Once, stepping in and out of his soulhome had been effortless, but he was out of practice. Theo threw his mind against it, hating how utterly blind he was to the threat. Eventually he began to sink into the ground, leaving his own soul and returning his consciousness to the real world.

Theo woke up and immediately blinded himself staring into the sun overhead. He groaned and reached up to shield his eyes, but his arm ached when he tried to move. Immediately several hands kept him pinned down - normal, Tatian hands.

His panic faded as he realized that he was safe. It must have taken more time than he thought to return, because he lay in the center of a village. The battle was clearly over, and though he saw some destroyed buildings, the villagers moving between them were already beginning to sing songs of rebuilding. If there were no songs of mourning, then the loss of life must have been limited.

When he tried to look around, however, the sun continued to glare directly into his eyes. Theo grimaced and opened his mouth to ask for water... and a dark cloth suddenly dropped over his face. He had a glimpse of Fiyu before it completely covered his vision.

"What are you doing?" a Tatian man demanded.

"The light was hurting him," Fiyu said somberly. "It's too bright."

"Am I the healer here, or are you? I'll care for this brave one, don't you worry."

Brave one? Theo thought it was more like stupidity, but he supposed that his actions would have looked brave to them. In a world like Tatian, that counted for something. He heard Fiyu trying to say something to him, and the healer was tending to the burn on his shoulder, but he was tired and sleep seemed too tempting to resist.

This time, he would fall asleep a soulcrafter. It hadn't been how he intended to awaken, but it would do. As unconsciousness claimed him, he reached out and touched his soulhome one more time.

-

As always, I value general feedback most. ^-^ But for those who want to talk about blurbs, I have a couple for you. First is my attempt at a punchy, emotional description based on feedback last week:

"Theo's adventure ended with his mentor's hands around his neck. The betrayal cost him his friends and allies, everything he had built... but not his life. Though broken and powerless, Theo has one last chance to enter the Nine Worlds, wielding the expertise of his first lifetime. This time, he needs more than just power, he needs to unravel the deception that killed him once... and is coming for him again."

That is not really my style, but the only relevant thing is what will appeal to the target audience. I might still use my modified longer description for some sites, not sure:

"The Nine Worlds span dimensions filled with wonder and adventure, but for Theo they mean bitter tragedy. For years he resented the betrayal that killed his friends, sent him back to Earth, and made him question everything he thought he knew.

But now, after a lifetime of struggle, he's found a way back to the Nine Worlds. An old man reborn in a new body, he has a second chance to rebuild what he lost and unravel a mystery that spans dimensions.

Book 1: Soulhome - Though Theo arrives in the safe world of Tatian, demons are crawling from the darkness between realms and he isn't the only inter-dimensional traveler. There's no time to carefully prepare himself: he needs to find allies among the lost just to survive long enough to make use of what he knows."

That's what I have, anyway. The one thing you can count on is consistent chapters Tuesdays/Saturdays, so see you then!