Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

“Allow me,” Adam said, pouring the tea for the older man, the trickling water breaking the sounds of the old man’s laboured breaths.

Hassan leaned back, reaching into his robes, dabbing his face and wiping off the blood. His eyes grew heavier, his eyelids falling down, almost calling him to slumber, but he once held the position of the Malawi of Black Mountain, and there was no way he would allow this exhaustion to overwhelm him.

‘What a crazy guy,’ Adam thought, finishing pouring the tea, pushing the cup a little closer to the old man. ‘Why did he…’

“I prayed. For advice. Last night…” Hassan whispered, his laboured breath light, yet he drew in as much breath as he could. “When I slept. I dreamt. I do not recall. What I dreamt. However. When I woke up. I knew what. I had to do. I had to raise. The Sword of the Lady. Retire. Give up. This arm.”

Adam listened to the old man, who could only speak a few words at a time. He listened intently, focusing upon the old man’s words.

Hassan understood that his actions were extreme, especially at this time, especially after the half elf had caused enough of a mess to cause mayhem for him politically, however, stepping down went a long way to shut down criticism, and giving up his arm had put the nail upon the coffin of disapproval.

‘That sword, I’m pretty sure Dunes gave it to the old man yesterday, and back then it was a pretty mundane sword, made of quicksilver, sure, but still…’ The half elf wondered how a mundane blade went from Legendary Enhanced over the course of a single night. He thought back to the explosion of ancient magic that had threatened to overwhelm him. ‘This really is a fantasy world…’

Hassan reached over towards his arm, rubbing the stub that remained, the old man having healed himself. Not even an hour ago, he had two arms, and within the span of such a short time, his entire life had changed.

“What happened to your arm?” the half elf finally asked, for though another may have thought twice, he wouldn’t have been considered a fool if he thought even once.

“In my heart. I felt I needed to do so. It is my thought you may understand. Though. I am uncertain how.”

‘He sacrificed his arm and expects me to understand?’ Adam thought, narrowing his eyes. ‘I mean, it’s not like I-…’

Hassan could see the realisation in the half elf’s eyes, thinking of something. As far as he knew, there was a figure the half elf knew who had sacrificed his arm. “Would you be willing to. Listen to a request. Of mine?”

“I am not so much of a fool that I wouldn’t at least hear you out,” the half elf replied, finding it awkward to speak that way, but fairly certain it showed some respect to the old man. Or… did it sound too arrogant?

“I wish for the Sword of the Lady to accompany you. She must gain the experience of the world. I believe she will grow quickly beside you.”

“The Sword of the Lady, her name is Lani, right?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t she Korin’s sister?”

“Yes.”

“Did you do that on purpose?”

Hassan smiled in return, sipping his tea lightly, barely able to taste the flavour, though the warmth of the tea filled through him.

“I can do that much,” Adam said, about to continue and dig himself into a hole, but he recalled the meditation in the morning, and decided against speaking further.

“Thank you for accepting my request.”

“How could I refuse when-,” the half elf began, only to stop, thinking about his words. “It is our honour to be able to assist the Lady of the Sword, especially when Black Mountain has treated us well.”

Seeing the half elf struggle in behaving well caused the old man to smile, but he bowed his head, sipping more of his tea. “I hope you are willing to stay a few more days.”

“It’s our pleasure to stay within Black Mountain, though I do not wish to burden you for too long,” Adam said, accepting the grace, though making sure not to overextend their welcome.

“Would the United Kindom be willing to spar with our youth while you remain?” Hassan asked.

“I’m sure a certain group of our business would love that, as well as Tanagek and Chosen,” Adam joked, bowing his head to the old man.

Once the conversation passed, the half elf stepped out, bowing his head to the Sheaths, one of whom entered to check upon Hassan, while the half elf whispered to the other.

The rest of the Order held quite the atmosphere, especially around Adilnur, who kept Lani by his side. When he had returned, he could already see how overwhelmed the young woman was with all the attention, and though she was living the dream of many within the Order, to claim the title of Sword of the Lady, she was still too young. There were already vultures who had swarmed her, though he was thankful to Chosen, who had stepped forward to speak with the young woman before the others could press her, speaking of all the tales he knew of the previous Swords of the Lady. He was also thankful towards another, although slightly less so…

Bael swung the blade through the air, feeling how easy it was to wield, thinking to all the Legendary weapons he had swung as a child, all those he had slept beside as a little brat. However, he could feel there was something greater within the blade, laying dormant upon his touch. It was that kind of sword, he supposed, and as his body grew with disdain as the moments passed, he returned the blade to the young lady.

“The sword is fine,” he said, having allowed the Acting Malawi to return to protect the girl. He ignored Dunes’ thankful gaze, for he had wanted to play with the sword even if the Priest hadn’t asked him to step forward to assist.

As the half elf returned, he noted the expectant gazes from the others, Dunes feigning surprise the half elf hadn’t gotten himself killed.

“We just chatted a little, that’s all,” Adam said to the entire group, but his eyes were glued to Dunes’.

“Just a chat?” Dunes asked.

“Ah, well…”

“What is it?” Dunes asked, his entire body calm, the young man stoic now that he had felt the ancient magic invade through him, which was apparently powerful enough to calm him from the half elf’s antics.

“The Malawi, the previous Malawi, Mo Hassan, requested us to allow… Lani, Ka Lani?”

“Kal Lani is more appropriate,” Dunes informed.

“Mo Hassan requested Kal Lani, Sword of the Lady, to accompany us upon our journey, so that she may gain experience in the world,” Adam said, as though that was a completely ordinary request.

Dunes inhaled deeply, holding his breath for a long moment, before finally exhaling. “Okay.”

“Speaking of which, where’s Korin?”

“He left recently to ask for Lady Sara’s hand in marriage.”

Adam gasped. “You what? Why didn’t you tell me? Congratulations to him, I was wondering when he was going to ask.”

“You knew?”

“I’m stupid, not blind,” the half elf replied, closing his eyes, tensing up so as to not laugh. “That’s so great, but…”

“He must complete several tasks before he is considered worthy to marry the Lady,” Dunes confirmed, noting the half elf’s tone.

“What does he need to do?”

“Whatever tasks the family asks of him. If he was stronger, a Master, if he held more fame, then the requests would be easier. To guess the tasks, I assume it would have something to do with the Reavers, perhaps?” Dunes wasn’t sure, since that was a rather extreme task, and Sara would accompany him on the way too. “Although, now that his sister has taken the title of Sword of the Lady, it may provide him with some fame.”

“What a dutiful little sister,” Adam joked, thinking of his own sister, feeling the shame rise within his heart. How could he allow his little sister to carry him? Wouldn’t Korin feel the same? “So has he gone to the nearby town?”

“More than likely.”

“We should go meet him after a short stay here and help him out,” Adam said, though they could already see upon his face the real reason why he wished to assist them. ‘Korin’s pretty handsome, Sara’s very pretty, so…’

‘Why is he speaking of someone’s marriage when he just witnessed a miracle?’ Maharan thought, glancing between the two Priests.

‘He is insane,’ Tanika thought.

‘Wow,’ Yasha thought, recalling the feeling of the miracle which had encompassed the Order. Even after, there were others who had quickly rushed back to the Order to check what had happened, only to hear they had missed the miracle. They cursed themselves, but returned back to their duties, for Hassan had made sure not to call those who were charged with keeping watch.

John blinked, staring up at the sky. ‘How many more miracles will I see this year?’

PATREON LINK

Damn.