The dawn ca slowly over the High Reach. Pale light spilled across the sea, painting the cabins in muted gold. The camp was quiet. Only the gulls cried above the cliffs. The smoke from last night’s fires drifted thin into the morning air. Bramm stood on the porch of his cabin, mantle drawn close, watching the horizon.
He turned when he heard the heavy tread of boots approaching the porch. stin stepped into view, warhamr slung across his back, his broad fra filling the clearing like a wall of iron. Bramm gestured deliberately to the chair opposite him, inviting stin to sit.
"Sit." Bramm motioned firmly.
stin lowered himself carefully, the wood creaking under his weight. For a mont, neither spoke. Their gazes locked on the horizon.
Bramm broke the silence. "You were among the first to join , and ever since, you’ve been a loyal warrior. I stand on the verge of a decision, and before I make it, I want to know more about you."
"We haven’t spoken much lately. I want to understand the man who will walk beside ." Bramm turned to stin with genuine interest.
stin’s amber eyes burned with mory. His voice was low, rumbling like distant thunder. "I am from the clan of Highmalt, a vassal clan to the great clan Nerifhreach, descendants of giants we are said to be. We and the mother clan were tasked with guarding the passes of the Northreach, where the continent connected to the extre wastes."
"We were the first line of defense against all those from the wastes and their abominations.
With each word he spoke, Bramm felt he was pulled into sothing akin to a story. stin spoke of the frozen tundras. He told how aberrations spilled from the Northern Wastes, pale horrors that clawed at the living. stin spoke of how they lived, their culture, and what it ant to fight these aberrations.
Listening in an entranced quiet, Bramm had taken a seat opposite the large man. For most of stin’s life, he had fought many horrors. He and his clansn were bred for war, for battle. That was their way of life, their culture. At least, when he was still alive.
"And, do you rember anything after those last few battle monts?"
stin had spoken about how he fought these shadowy, horrid creatures, but he never once told Bramm how he died. Was it the beasts? Or sothing else?
"No, my Lord. My final mory was..." he fell silent in thought, his brows furrowing as he tried to recollect sothing from his mind.
"It was tearing one of those things in half. But a shadow flickered to my right, and my vision turned dark. When I awoke... I was here." He gestured to the cabin and the clearing.
"Mhmm, intriguing." Bramm nodded, eyes narrowing in thought. ’It seems he doesn’t rember precisely how he died...’
"Well, that will be all for today. No need to dampen the mood further with such a tale." Bramm stood up and t stin’s gaze, holding it to show his sincerity.
"I have made my decision. stin, you are one of the first to follow , and one of the bravest n I have the pleasure of knowing. I wish to walk this journey even farther with you... and for that reason, I shall give you a gift."
Bramm opened the system panel with a focused expression, his eyes beginning to glow faintly in response to the interface.
[Hero Evolution Slot Available]
[Candidate: stin Highmalt]
’Proceed’
Just as his words ended, a soft light enveloped stin. It shone in the color of radiating rainbows. Then it disappeared, as if nothing had even happened.
"That is my gift to you... I hope you will rise to the occasion and walk this path with a while longer," Bramm said, a soft smile on his face. "I thank the Mormaer for his gift and his trust." stin’s voice bood as he stood and bowed solemnly.
"Good, now go and enjoy the day of rest. Once the morrow appears, you and the others will be busy. I intend for you and the others to lead a few n of your own as well." Bramm clearly stated his intention and dismissed stin with a wave and a laugh.
Seeing stin walk off, Bramm stroked his beard in thought, ’Descended of Giants, huh? Maybe when we go to the northern passes, we’ll et so... but these aberrations? I’ll have to make a note on that.’
’I did it quite earlier than I originally planned, but getting stin to a higher level sooner makes it worth it... Don’t let down. Son of Giants’ he smirked.
The clearing of the Black-Spine forest was no longer a scattered assembly of small cabins and makeshift tents. Over the span of two weeks, the whole area had been reshaped. It beca sothing greater than before.
Along the clearing’s edge stood a massive, interlocking palisade wall of iron oak. Heavy, blackened iron bands were bolted tightly around the timber joints, reinforcing the dense wood.
Inside the periter, the living quarters boasted four newly completed, sturdy log cabins, bringing the total to a nice round ten. Two campfire areas were built across from one another in front of the newly built cabins for comfort and light.
To the western edge of the clearing, the plateau had made way for a crude but newly built training ground. It featured rows of sturdy wooden weapon racks loaded with blunt practice broadswords, spears, and axes.
Heavy leather sandbags hung securely from stout crossbeams, and thick wrestling posts were driven deep into the earth. At the center of the yard sat a series of colossal, upright logs used for strength conditioning.
Bramm had commissioned this for Mornell and others between projects. It was a clear success. Bramm has used the equipnt daily since its construction.
And at the very heart of the settlent, the loose, smoky dirt pits of the first night were entirely gone. In their place sat magnificent, circular hearths crafted from flat, interlocking granite slabs that trapped and radiated a deep amber heat into the cooling mountain air.
User Comments
0 comments from readers