Champions Vol. 01

Tuning out her incessant complaints, he scanned the road ahead. They had been walking for half a day and even with a short halt every hour Laurena had been insufferable. She had changed the focus of her whining for the last hour towards convincing him to stop for lunch, and he was trying to find a decent location that looked defensible, and was hard to spot from the road. He was about to give up and just park her ass next to the river. They needed to top off their water supply, and if he was really lucky she would fall in and drown.

Fantasizing about gagging and hogtying her to be dragged behind Meadowgrass, and the glorious silence that would result, he nearly missed what he had been looking for. It was a small clearing in the middle of a stand of trees right next to the river. Turning to his incessantly nagging companion, he pointed out his find.

"We can stop there for lunch. It's hard to spot from the road, close to the river, and can be easily defended."

Looking where he was pointing Laurena did not see what the big deal was. It was a patch of trees. They had walked by five patches of trees in the last hour and a half, and none of them looked any different. Why was this one so special? She said as much, voicing her complaint in the same manner she had voiced every other complaint during the long, long morning.

"Because they were too close to the road, too far from the river, on terrain that had too many blind approaches, or were in locations with no second way out, thus easy for us to become trapped in," he snapped, thoroughly tired of her negativity.

"I don't feel like dying from laziness or stupidity today, which means that as long as you are with me you won't die from them either. But I can't save you from your own laziness and stupidity after we part ways, so I suggest paying attention to what I do and why I do it if you want to continue living."

"Once I deliver you to Eros I will be granted full priestess status as a reward, and you will escort me to Calavius in gratitude for my efforts," she snapped back at him viciously, insulted by his attitude. "When I arrive there I will join their temple, and never have to travel this Eros forsaken road again. So I have no need of your advice. Besides, I traveled the road from Sanctuary Port for a week and a half without incident."

"Yeah, except for the whole getting kidnapped and almost raped part," he muttered under his breath, quietly enough that she did not hear him.

"Do you want to stop there or not?" he asked. "We can always keep going and just stop sooner in the evening."

"Of course I want to stop there. I wanted to stop at the last five places we passed, and every place in between, for the last two hours."

"Then we'll stop," he said. He was trying to be patient with her; she was clearly unused to walking long distances at the pace he had set. But the sleepless night and the stresses of the previous day had reduced his patience to the point he could no longer tolerate her presence. Then again, he thought to himself with a chuckle, at this point even Job might be looking for the duct tape.

Arriving at the clearing with minimal additional complaints from the unhappy woman, David tied up Meadowgrass to graze amongst the lush thick grass. Removing the bag of food stuffs from behind the saddle he pulled her nearly empty water skin from it, and tossed the bag in front of where she had sat down.

"I'm going to the river to top off water. Get some rest, eat something, and be ready to move in half an hour," he told her. Without waiting for a reply he walked to the river, hoping it would be far enough away to not hear her voice.

He found a slightly over grown footpath at the back of the clearing that led down to the riverbank. Kneeling down, he filled her water skin, and then pulled his Camelbak® off and filled it as well. He had iodine tablets to purify it, but he suspected Laurena could do the same with magic. He would ask her about it when he returned.

Taking out a cigarette and lighting it, David enjoyed the sounds of nature. They were glorious at the moment, unsullied by the woman's constant whining. He thought about their situation, and his travel plan. It made sense to put all the gear on the horse and walk. The trail through the mountains was steep and not particularly wide in places. It was easy to imagine Meadowgrass having trouble carrying Laurena and his pack; and if he had carried his pack they would have needed to slow to half the pace he had set. But they had reached a point in the last hour where the land was beginning to level out. It might be possible for him to split up the gear in his pack, and put Laurena and some of the excess weight on the horse. It would be worth the loss in speed and small amount of discomfort if it meant he didn't have to hear her bitching for another five hours.

Thinking about the distribution of weight, David realized the only way it would work was if he put the Mk 48, M14, and all the extra ammo on the horse. He really didn't like that idea. Then he thought about another five hours listening to the wench's incessant complaining. He could live with not carrying the heavy weapons and ammo; he doubted she would survive if he had to listen to her whining for another five hours.

He decided to share the good news with Laurena, hoping it would earn him some peace.

***

A few hours later they were traveling down the road, and the quiet David had hoped for had lasted less than twenty minutes.

After telling Laurena of his plan, she was very pleased that she didn't have to walk any longer. It took David nearly fifteen minutes to reorganize his gear. He had pulled the extra ammo from his ruck and stored it in the stuff sack for his sleeping bag, wrapping the noisy magazines and 7.62 belts in his fleece to prevent them from rattling. He had used 550-cord to secure the bag, the Mk 48, and the M14 to the saddle. His significantly lighter ruck was now on his back, the girl was now astride Meadowgrass, and they were all much happier with this arrangement. She had healed her blistered feet and eaten a simple meal while he worked. She had easily purified the water he had collected when asked.

Her attitude had greatly improved after they set out from the clearing, so she decided to share her now cheerful mood with him by talking incessantly. She asked him about his world, and what he did there. She had trouble understanding how a war could last twelve years, or how he could fight in it when it was on the other side of the world from his home. It amazed her how big his world was and how much he knew about it. And she asked endless questions trying to understand his technology. Explaining electricity took nearly half an hour by itself; and he had to take out his headlamp and show her how the batteries powered the light before she accepted that he spoke the truth.

Eventually he realized she was just bored from spending the last week and a half on the road by herself. He decided if he couldn't have peace and quiet, he might as well have information instead. So he asked her questions about the geography of Erosius, learning more about the different regions in the land. Right now they were discussing the local areas.

"To the north you can see the edge of the Dracian Forest. It stretches west past Wolfsvale nearly all the way to Exitibus, which is the last big town on the way to Calavius. It sits at the crossroads where the southern and northern roads meet before continuing their way to the western port city," Laurena explained to him.

"Where did the names for all these places come from?" he asked her.

"Well, Calavius is named after its first mayor and most renowned citizen. He fought in a great battle against raiders many generations ago, and afterwards traveled west to find a new life. What he found was a small fishing town, which had a deep, calm bay perfect for larger merchant ships to weather in during a storm. He convinced the fisherman to work together to build a single large series of docks. They could easily hold all the local fishermen's small boats, as well as offer a port for larger ships to dock and resupply. Soon every merchant ship coming from the west was stopping in their small town, and it grew in size to become the largest port in all of western Erosius. I've heard that it has even outgrown Lexia in the last few winters.

"Exitibus means crossroads in the old tongue, and it grew as the travelers and overland merchants from the Northern and Southern Roads met to do business before traveling on to Calavius or Lexia. It is mostly known as a waypoint for travelers and as a market for the locals, but with merchants and traders from all of northern and western Erosius passing through its streets it boasts the greatest selection of trade goods than can be found outside of a port city.

"The history of Wolfsvale is as unusual as its name. It was originally a handful of farms clustered around where the Lexian Road split from the Southern Road. They were mostly crop farms, but they did have some sheep that they tended as well. The shepherds and travelers had a difficult time with packs of wolves that roamed the countryside for many winters, until a band of farmers and huntsmen organized and killed most of them off, driving the rest further west or into the forest. Eros teaches that all life is precious, so in penance for their actions the people named the area near the crossroads 'Wolf's Veil Crossing'. From then on all who passed through it would know of the many wolves' spirits that were sent across the veil to make the land safer. Not long after that the road to Calavius was completed, and the traffic and trade along the southern road increased. Wolfsvale grew from a few farms to a decent sized town as a result.

"The Dracian Forest is named that because it is the home of the Draco. You will rarely find dragons outside of the northern Abatinus Mountains and the Dracian Forest, but the dragon-kin are said to occasionally live in the surrounding areas, and to even travel Erosius from time to time."

Nodding his head, David absorbed what she was saying as he walked. But at her mention of dragons he stopped, and stared at her. She eventually noticed his pause and brought Meadowgrass to a halt, turning back to him with a questioning look on her face.

"Did you just say dragons, and dragon-kin?" he asked, trying to keep the hysteria in his mind from his voice.

"Yes. The Draco, or Dracians as they are also called, are the dragons and dragon-kin."

"Exactly what kind of dragons are we talking about?" he asked, still having trouble with the idea.

"Well I was taught of the green forest dragons, the gray mountain dragons, the blue water dragons, and the white snow dragons. Each is slightly different, but they range in size from 26 feet to 65 feet, have four legs, wings, long necks, and tails. They are also very magical, so most are able to change their form and usually live to be many centuries old," she explained.

"And what are dragon-kin?" he asked, rapidly approaching information overload.

"They are the word we use to describe the children of mixed dragon and human parents. One of the forms dragons can take is human-like and in this form the dragon can lay with a human, and produce children. This is rare, and the child that results generally looks like a mix between their human and dragon parents. They usually have much more inherent magic than their human parent, and are longer lived than them as well. As a result they are generally welcomed into any human community, and considered an asset. But since they are not fully dragon, or fully human, they are called dragon-kin."

David had officially hit information overload. This was too much. A God of Love that had a young, extremely high maintenance, hottie guiding him around a strange world was one thing. But dragons and humans getting horizontal with each other, and popping out kids had pushed the limit of his ability to process. How the hell did that even work?

Puzzling over all the new information, he lapsed into silence. Surprisingly Laurena recognized his mind was troubled by what she had explained to him, and allowed the silence to remain undisturbed. After working his way through the concept of dragons, which he had some trouble with; and the concept of dragon-kin, which he had a lot more trouble with, he restarted their conversation.

"Ok. I can't say that I expected the whole dragon and dragon-kin thing. We only have humans on my world. But that whole thing brings up something else that has been bothering me since I got here. Explain magic to me, please."

Laurena deliberated for a few moments, not certain she knew enough to adequately explain magic. She was a novice with her magic, barely able to perform the simple spells that most clergy did without a thought. But he was being nice, and finally talking to her again after ignoring her for most of the morning; and as his guide she felt responsible for helping him to understand her world.

"I am not an expert, but I will try to explain magic to you as it was explained to me.

"When the faithful first followed Eros to this land, they met the dragons. The dragons had lived in Erosius for as far back as they could remember. Humans were new, and strange to them. They were small, they could not fly, and they lacked magic. But their god was powerful, and kind, so the dragons showed them how to live with the land, and showed them magic.

"In the old realm there were many gods and goddesses, and most were petty, squabbling, jealous deities. They had denied humans their magic, because they needed the humans' worship to feed their powers. They feared that if humans could access their own magic, they would no longer pray to the gods for help. Eros loved his people, and had never agreed with depriving them of such a huge part of themselves, so he removed the restraints from his faithful and allowed their magic free. He had hoped that magic would be the common ground through which humans and the dragons would grow closer. For a time it was.

"Each person has a certain amount of magic in them. Some have more, some have less, but everyone has something. The trick to using it is convincing your magic to do what you want. Magic has its own language, and doesn't really understand our thoughts and desires very well. To get your magic to do anything, you have to explain what you want it to do using its language, and then convince it to help you. Some concepts are easy for your magic to understand, like moving dirt around to clean things. Some concepts are hard, like gathering elements from the world and arranging them to create something that wasn't there before. Some concepts are impossible, like creating fire or lightning from nothing.

"The more complex the idea, or difficult for your magic to comprehend, the more detailed your explanation has to be for your magic to understand and agree to your intent. It also takes a certain amount of focus, and the proper mindset to be successful. This is what the dragons taught us about magic. Unfortunately, the dragons did not remain our teachers for long.

"They believed that the land was beautiful, sacred, and should be left untouched. The land provided food for the animals, the animals provided food for the dragons, and when the dragons died their bodies provided food for the land. All things existed in balance.

"The humans believed that Eros had brought them to this land, and it was a gift to his faithful. The dragons were their neighbors and guides, chosen by Eros to help them in the new land. They believed that since the land was a gift from their god, it should be cherished. That they should give thanks to Eros for anything they took. But ultimately everything in the land was part of the gift he gave them. So they began to round up livestock and cut down trees to plant fields and build homes. They were changing the land to suit their needs instead of learning to change their needs to suit the land.

"Eventually the dragons moved away from the humans and into the forests and mountains at the center of Erosius. They made an agreement with the humans. The dragons would stay within their new lands, and let the humans do what they needed. But the humans would stay out of Dracian lands, respecting their desire to keep that part of the world untouched.

"Both dragons and humans loved and respected the land in their own way, so they were both willing to agree with the other on this choice. Their differences in beliefs were minor, but significant enough for them to feel separation was a more peaceful solution than disagreement and animosity.

"After the dragons stopped teaching his faithful about magic, Eros began instructing a few of his most devoted in order to finish their education. He explained that their magic was not as strong as the dragons' magic, but there were ways that humans could gain greater magic by accessing some of the power he would grant them. By sharing the love he had for all people, they could share his magic as well.

"He taught them the Blessings of Eros, an act of shared passion that brought them closer together and increased their power. Then he taught them healing magic, explaining that all life is sacred and it would be their responsibility to protect and preserve it whenever possible. This became known as the Healing of Eros, a great responsibility that all members of the clergy must take seriously. Lastly he tasked them with teaching this knowledge of magic to the rest of his faithful, spreading his message of love and compassion to all those who had followed him to this land.

"So his most devoted faithful became the first priests and priestesses, and it has been the clergy's responsibility to spread his teachings to all the humans who live in Erosius. Their actions ensuring both magical knowledge and love continue to prosper throughout the land."

Finishing her tale, Laurena looked to see David's response. He appeared deep in thought, which was understandable. She had just distilled many winters of dogmatic teachings into a brief speech; and had skipped or glossed over many parts that she couldn't fully remember, or never truly understood. It was not surprising to her that he needed some time to think it over.

They continued to travel in silence while he analyzed what he had learned. Everyone had magic? That seemed unusual and a bit over simplified. He wondered if he had magic now that he was in this world. There were dragons, and they used to be friendly with humans, but apparently not friendly enough to put aside their beliefs. Magic had to be convinced to do what you wanted. That made it sound like it was a sentient thing with its own thoughts and desires, and you had to coax it. He wondered if it was a symbiotic, parasitic, or servile relationship. Did the magic even want to be inside you? If it also inhabited the dragons he figured it was probably voluntary, but he couldn't be sure. If it was parasitic then did using a lot of magic reduce its power to feed off your body, allowing you to live longer; or did it make the magic stronger, causing it to feed of your body more, shortening your life? He decided it was time to change the subject, he was starting to worry he might not like the answers to some of those questions.

"If I'm supposed to be the new Champion, what happened to the last one?"

Laurena contemplated her response for a few moments before answering. "I don't know many of the details, but I do know that she died a generation ago in a battle near the coast, northeast of Calavius. It was near a small fishing village that is no longer inhabited. A group of people from across the sea landed in the village, and began slaughtering everyone. Some were able to flee, hiding in the sparse forests and plains that surrounded the area. One of them had a horse and she road for almost a week to Exitibus to request aid from the temple there.