Explorer of Edregon

Vin walked alongside Tarnis as the three of them made their way toward the keep in the center of the fragment. Hanrik, the woman with some orc traits that he was still curious about, walked behind them, in a position he wouldn’t have been very comfortable with if it weren’t for his divine boon. They walked on an actual paved road stretching between a few fields of crops, filled with dozens upon dozens of farmers tending to them. Many of them inclined their heads as the three of them walked past, but Tarnis didn’t so much as glance in their direction as he filled Vin in on their history.

“We represent the kingdom of Primodorea, a vast nation that once spanned all across our main continent. Our keep was one of thousands just like it, and unlike the pitiful number of us there are now, the rankers filling up our nation once spanned into the millions. We had been planning on constructing mighty vessels and heading off to expand into the remaining continents in due time, but the dramatic increase in monsters over the past few years caused us to temporarily halt our plans of expansion and focus on our own survival instead. Then, as you of course well know, our keep and a fraction of the land it was in charge of were whisked away by the Gods, taken to Edregon to start anew.”

“That checks out with most of the other fragments I’ve spoken to,” Vin nodded. He was slightly concerned about this expansion Tarnis talked about, but he decided to withhold judgement until he learned more.

“So you have met multiple civilizations?” Tarnis asked, giving him a curious look. “Tell me, do many of them enjoy combat?”

“Uh… probably no more than the next one,” Vin said, before pausing. “Actually, I did meet a minotaur at one point who seemed very into the idea of battle. I never met his people, however, so he might have just been an oddball. They’re half man, half bull, and all loud.”

“A minotaur… how fascinating,” Tarnis muttered. “To continue, when we were whisked away and had our levels stolen from us in the Recount, things were rather tumultuous for a while. Much blood was spilled as rankers with grudges against others that were suddenly within their reach grasped their opportunity and struck. Many lives were lost before order was restored and the ranks reestablished. Naturally, few of us could have ever hoped to have ranked even among the top ten thousand warriors back on our old world, but now that our forces were narrowed down to a mere sliver of what they once were, we had to adjust.”

“I just want to get this out of the way now before we waste each other’s time,” Vin said, holding up a hand. “I get the feeling you guys really like fighting. Like, a lot. You’re not going to attempt to take over all of Edregon or anything, are you?”

“Perhaps one day, but not for many years,” Tarnis said, causing Vin to blink in surprise. He hadn’t expected Tarnis to actually admit to the desire at all, but the warrior merely gave him a small smile. “Our forces are splintered and a mere shadow of what they once were. At the moment, we are our own worst enemy. Battles within the ranks are far more common than they used to be with how close in level we all are with one another, and our population is still dropping fast. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about in the near future.”

“That’s… not really quite as reassuring as you seem to think it is, but alright.”

Tarnis surprised him again by heading off the road and helping himself to two stalks of corn from the harvest box the Farmers were in the middle of filling up. Again, none of the Farmers made so much as a peep as he did so, those who chose to react at all merely bowing their heads. Returning to them, Tarnis handed him the corn before digging into his own and continuing.

“The few of us who managed to establish ourselves above the rest and garner a safe rank have taken it upon ourselves to scout out the surrounding land, which is how we discovered the fragments. Two of our neighboring fragments were filled with fellow sentient beings such as ourselves, and our three fragments quickly formed an alliance as we all share two borders with the others. While we have been trading amongst ourselves, unfortunately, we have been largely trapped in this section of Edregon. All of the nine fragments surrounding our three have been revealed to be largely impassable.”

“Really?” Vin asked, immediately curious as to what those nine fragments contained. The valley in the mist and the neilans were the only two of those nine he was currently aware of. “What sort of hazards are you dealing with?”

“Horrific monsters and natural obstacles that martial might is unable to solve,” Tarnis admitted. “One of the three alliance fragments is filled with spellcasters such as yourself who are working diligently to find a way through, but they have yet to succeed.”

“I would very much like to meet this member of your alliance,” Vin said, already grinning at the thought of all the new spells he could potentially get his hands on.

“You will meet them shortly,” Tarnis promised. “Once we return to the keep and get you situated, I imagine the ranker king will call for a new alliance meeting.”

“You guys have a king?” Vin blinked. “I figured your leader was just whoever was best at fighting.”

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“That is our king,” Tarnis laughed. “Our leader is whoever currently holds the number 1 rank amongst our warriors. They were a queen prior to Edregon, but our leader is now a king.”

“So if you’re ranked 23… that means you’re pretty close to the position of king yourself, right?”

“Not as close as you would think. The current ranker king is the former man placed in charge of this keep,” Tarnis explained. “Prior to Edregon, he was ranked eight thousand six hundred and fourteen, a true monster of a warrior to place so high amongst the millions of rankers. Even with our levels being reset, his skill as a prodigy of the blade was not taken from him. He fought through over a hundred challenges during our first day on Edregon, and killed them all where they stood, quickly advancing in level and establishing himself as our new king. Even now, rumor has it he has already achieved his third prestige, a feat which he was just about to pull off on our old world before we were taken.”

Man, Alka would love this fragment… I’ll have to tell her to check it out after I retrieve the missing Earthers and head home.

“I apologize if this is rude to ask… but I couldn’t help and notice your ears,” Vin said, glancing at the man’s pointed ears as they left the farmland behind them and entered the final stretch before the keep. “Are you a half-elf or something? I’ve never quite seen someone like you before.”

“I am human, as are nearly all of us these days,” Tarnis explained, not sounding at all upset by the question. “Over the millennia of battle it took for our kingdom to expand throughout the entire continent, our people absorbed many different races into our nation. It just so happened that humans made up the majority of people, and the other races ended up being largely assimilated into humanity after countless generations due to our superior number. There were a few noble houses which were careful to keep their bloodlines pure and refused to marry humans, but none were anywhere near this keep. As such, you’ll find naught but humans here.”

“How interesting,” Vin muttered, glancing behind him at Hanrik’s green skin and too-large teeth yet again. “What of the other two fragments in your alliance? Are they humans as well?”

“One is filled with a curious race called beastkin, while the other is entirely orcs. Are you familiar with them?”

“Yes, I’ve met both along my travels,” Vin admitted. “Them and many others.”

“I admit, I am quite excited to hear what knowledge you have to share with us,” Tarnis said, giving him a large smile. “If there is anything we can do to help make your stay more comfortable, as your sponsor, please do not hesitate to let me know. In the same way that a challenge toward you is a challenge toward me, your wellbeing is seen as my own.”

“I can handle my own comfort pretty well,” Vin admitted, thinking of his stronghold of slumber he could create at just about any time. “…Though I am actually on something of a mission. Did your people happen to pick up three new humans recently, wearing strange clothes similar to mine? They would have appeared out of thin air about two weeks back, having no idea what was going on?”

“You speak of the anomalies,” Tarnis said, actually halting in step, his expression immediately going hard. “They are your people?”

“There was something of a magical mishap the other day that resulted in them getting teleported across Edregon. I’ve been trying to find them and bring them back,” Vin explained, carefully watching Tarnis’ face. “Why do you call them anomalies?”

“Because they had no idea how the System worked and were unnerved by our appearances,” Tarnis explained. “None of us have ever known a grown man or woman who didn’t know the basics of the System.”

“Yes, their education was admittedly a tad lacking,” Vin grinned, deciding going into how their fragment still had brand-new people showing up every so often was probably not the best idea. “They haven’t caused any issue, have they?”

“No, but the spellcasters I told you about have been using our keep to study them,” Tarnis explained. “For some reason, they believe the three of them might be the key to unlocking powerful magics. Two of them appeared on our fragment, and the other among the orcs. During one of our recent alliance meetings, we brought them all together.”

“There’s not going to be any issue with me taking them back with me, right?” Vin asked, praying he wasn’t about to have to fight his way through an entire kingdom of deadly warriors.

“My people will be indifferent, but the beastkin won’t be pleased,” Tarnis admitted. “Though if your information is as useful as I suspect it will be, we will back your decision to bring your people home with you.”

“Thank you, that’s a load off my back,” Vin said, letting out a small sigh of relief. “I’ll admit after seeing your strange culture, I was a bit worried they would have already been cut down or something.”

“There is no honor in fighting one who is unranked,” Tarnis frowned. “It is the natural order of things. Those who choose a different path than one forged by steel are lifted up high in our society. They provide for us and allow us to focus on growing stronger, and as such, we treat them with the utmost respect.”

“That makes sense, I suppose,” Vin said, thinking back to the Farmers he’d seen. While Tarnis hadn’t spoken to them, he certainly hadn’t shouted or ordered them about either. Come to think of it, he’d thought their houses and clothing looked shockingly neat and well-made for simple Farmers. “Though if that’s the case, why did Ponk try and gut me like a fish?”

“While there is no honor in fighting an unranked, there is even less honor given to those who rely on artifacts to fight for them,” Tarnis said, his face darkening. “If you were revealed to be wielding an enchanted sword, for example, I would have cut you down myself where you stood. Ponk was too blind to realize your artifact was not designed to be used as a weapon, but I am not so foolish.”

“No enchanted weapons, got it,” Vin nodded, happy he was learning the rules of this place rather quickly. And that his fire-knife looked like nothing more than a broken knife hilt until he activated it. “Anything else I should know about?”

“For now, you should be fine,” Tarnis said, clapping him on the shoulder and nodding toward his pocket as they finally approached the entrance to the keep. “Though you should tie your seal around your arm before we enter. Else other fools like Ponk may try and snuff out your life without warning as he did, and that would be most upsetting.”