Soulforge Legacy Series

God, how I missed my bed back on Earth. The ground here was littered with stones and no matter how many times I removed them, more seemed to show up. Almost like they spawned there just to stab into my back. And no, I was not going to take the truck space from those that needed it.

Eventually I gave up even trying and went to join those on watch. It was because of this that I found myself looking out at the forest as the sun slowly peeked over the horizon.

Wisps of mist floated off of the leaves as the dew started to warm up. Sheets of mist blanketed the area, blocking off much of the forest from view. Still, the soft gray light was enough to wake the camp.

As the volume increased, the fear that had permeated the group since I had first been brought to the basement was gone. If anything, the mood had done a complete one-eighty.

Quite a few people worked on cooking breakfast while others tended to the camp. Still, everyone seemed to take their time. To allow themselves to stop and talk with others. To laugh. Even the kids ran around without much care for how loud they were being. As the sun rose, the misty fog lifted and we got back on the road.

Instead of diving into my system or letting my mind mull over recent events, I looked out at the world. Without the dark of night to hide the trees, the forest didn’t look as thick or as menacing as before. That being said, it was thick enough to force the little road to weave around and through the place.

And the road wasn’t what I expected. Back at that starter city it was mostly made of dirt. All except for the noble section.

At some point, the road had changed. While dirt was still present, gravel filled the gullies that various carts had worn into the surface. And sure, while there were a few potholes here and there, it was nothing like the roads back on Earth. Especially as most of them looked recently filled.

Actually, that made a bit of sense. Even with spatial backpacks, these roads were likely one of the only methods of transporting large amounts of goods between cities. Even if the nation didn’t repair the roads, the merchants would if only to prevent a broken axel.

As for our vehicle, it didn’t bat an eye when a wheel encountered any of the potholes. Hell, something told me that if I went back and checked the various holes we had gone over I would find that the hole was gone. Filled in by dirt and stone as the wheels crushed the sides down.

Over the course of what felt like days but was likely only hours, the forest thinned before finally parting to reveal open sky and rolling hills. Those hills gave way to a lake surrounded by stone and dirt.

The road didn’t descend the gradual slope. It curved to the right and seemed to hug the slop as it made its way to the far end of the lake. Which felt odd.

Sure the hills would have to be woven through, but the slope was barely noticeable. It wasn’t something anyone or vehicle would have an issue with. So why take the long way around?

As we started our turn to follow the edge, I found myself looking toward the lake just in time for a decent sized eruption of water. The sudden appearance surprised me into gasping. I wasn’t the only one either as the people in the back of the truck looked out over the landscape. The fabric cover long since removed so that some of them could bathe in the sun.

Water misted into the air, fogging up the area even as it fell back to the earth. Such events explained why the road turned as the designers were likely avoiding whatever caused those spouts to appear.

Still, something about the event reminded me of something in the past, but I couldn’t place my finger on what or why. Well, whatever it was, it was probably nothing.

The wall on the far side was a bit steeper than the rest thanks to a short mountain in the near distance. An assortment of odd trees dotted its upper reaches, distracting me long enough to miss the city. Eventually though, the red and brown stone walls caught my attention.

The city was massive. Large enough that four or five of the starter cities could sit inside of it with room for farms while not hindering expansion. Still, its placement confused me.

None of the walls came up to the water. In fact, they didn’t even seem to cross onto the barren soil. That being said, I did see quite a few docks dotted at various places along the shore.

Then there were the farms built into one of the steeper sections of the wall. They reminded me of the tiered gardens used in places like the Philippines. Or was it most of Asia? Honestly world history wasn’t my strongest subject given that I had never thought the knowledge would be of any use.

Not that this made such knowledge any more useful. It only made me question the people that settled here. Why build into what amounted to the side of a mountain when the rest of the valley was open.

The closer we got, the clearer the area became. Tiny dots appeared as they flowed all over. From the city to the farms and even the mountain beyond. At first, I thought they were monsters wondering around. Some even seemed to sprint from place to place as if chasing their target.

Slowly, the dots resolved into various beasts, most of which were humanoid. Of those, most had some beastly traits. From something as simple as the ears of some creature to the lower half being entirely beast. The last of which seemed to replace the majority of the beasts of burden as they moved the carts from place to place.

The truck skidded through the gravel covered road as Xander slammed on the brakes. People in the back screamed as they were thrown forward. My reflexes were the only reason that I had managed to stay in my seat.

A massive bird had decided to land in the path of our vehicle. Feathers covered most of its body save for the tail and wings. The tail was something akin to what one would expect on a snake or dragon. Both wings were a bit more batlike too.

The bird head twisted this way and that as both eyes tried to get a good look at the two of us. If it was alone, I could have probably driven it off, but the sounds of a veritable flock landing around us destroyed that idea.

“Who are you and what is your purpose here?” A female voice called from our left. One that I recognized.

“Tindi?” The name was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“We are here to complete a request given to Gravepoint Council.” Xander’s voice covered my voice.

“What is the name of the requester?” A new voice demanded from the other side.

Xander didn’t hesitate to answer. “Baelor Moonweaver.” I had no clue who that was which wasn’t all that surprising.

“Ah,” the second speaker started. “If that is the case, you and your…mechanized beast, are allowed to approach the city. An attendant will meet you there and will guide you to a spot to rest as Lord Moonweaver is apprised of the situation.”

With that, the contingent of winged beasts took to the air. Xander didn’t waste a second as he got the truck going again. “Who is this Baelor Moonweaver?” I asked.

Xander didn’t answer. He just focused on the road in front of us. Taking his time to make sure that we didn’t run anyone over and that there was enough room for others going in the other direction.

As we approached a decently sized intersection, a small figure popped out of one of the buildings along the side. The truck, which had started to slow for the turn needed to head to the city gates, slowed to a stop as the figure waved us down.

“You are the ones Lord Moonweaver sent for, yes?” A small lizardman said, his clipped voice carried with it a bit of an Asian accent. “Good. If you will follow me, I have been instructed to bring you somewhere suitable to wait.”

While the lizardman was small, he could move. He didn’t wait for us to acknowledge his instructions before he took off. Every time we started to gain on him, he would speed up.

Then the man turned. It was short, sharp, and sudden. So much so that Xander had no hope in hell of making that turn. Not if he didn’t want to flip the vehicle.

After taking a minute to stop and back up, we came to a stop next to our guide as he stood there, impatiently waiting. “Do not wander. Lord Moonweaver will come speak to you when he is ready.”

He didn’t stay to see what we might say or answer any questions. He simply vanished.

“How in the…” I asked as I tried to figure out where he had gone.

“If I had to guess,” Xander said as he started to lock the truck down. “He practices a few cultivation techniques. Probably those that are speed related.”

“Wait,” I held up a hand as I tried to understand what he had just said. “I think you are confusing something here as this is not a Xianxia novel.”

He actually laughed at me. “Well, while you are not wrong, you are also not right.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I demanded.

“Mana can be used in many ways. For us, we use spells and such.” He waved a hand through the air. “Those spells use mana as a medium in which to interact with the world. That being said, it is not the only way to do so.”

He took a second to think about something before continuing. “Believe it or not, every fantasy story out there has multiple systems tied together. Ways in which they can interact with and control whatever fundamental power it is they have access to.”

“That is not true.” I scoffed. “Just look at the Harry Potter series.”

His head bobbed a bit. “That is true. The system in that world is fairly robust, but there are a few systems there.”

“Name two.”

“Chanted and unchanted casting.” At my skeptical look, he continued. “Every time one of the characters casts a spell, they are forced to chant the words yet time and time again there are those that simply point their wand or fingers to cause something to happen.”

“That could still be considered the same system.” I countered.

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes. “Then the whole potion and alchemy sections of the story.”

“What about them?”

“They wouldn’t fall under the same magic system and could even be considered a more nature-based system. One that relies on the magic of whatever is added in. Hence, a completely different system from the one used throughout the story.”

While he wasn’t wrong that it didn’t quite fit, I wasn’t all that convinced. “That could be explained away with it being the basis for the original system that eventually evolved into what magic is at the time the book was written in.”

“There is just no…” he shook his head. “Then what about the various enchanted items that glance into a person’s soul and reads their desires? Or what about the ones where the dead appear?”

Actually, he was right, those really didn’t fit with the magic system. But they had been added in so as to make them seem fine. Still, what did any of this have to do with cultivation?

When I asked that question, he let out a sigh. “I am just saying that there are multiple ways for one to interact with magic. That our way is not the only way. The Chinese and a few others have their own methods. A few of which were even practiced back on our magicless planet. Techniques that were fairly powerful before only to suddenly grow that much stronger now that magic has started to permeate their body.”

With those words, he opened the door and got out. Leaving me to think over what he had just said.

I didn’t want to believe him. There was no way that he was right. Surely if there were other ways to use magic, one of my teachers would have brought it up. Right?