Harry was cold, the fire had burnt up his clothes alongside the forest. And the mountain breeze was chilling on his skin. After the horse-legged archer had died, Harry sat himself down and looked around,
The forest at his back was charred black. Smoke still rising from the smouldering trees and the grassland beneath him had withered from the cloud of toxic air, and for the first time since he'd awoken on that hospital bed. He felt like he understood why Miss Ericson had seemed so uncomfortable being near Harry.
He'd done this, he'd turned a beautiful hillside into a lifeless wasteland with scarcely a sentence and the wind blowing through the valley, he'd robbed hundreds of animals of their chance at life. Ruined the natural beauty of the area, and he didn't know what to do about it.
Was this his life now? Would this happen more? Would he be able to go to school? Was it safe for anyone to be around him at all? What if he couldn't control this smoke, . he couldn't control magic when the Dursley's locked him underneath the staircase so why would this be different.
Then the six-year-old Godslayer had an idea, Could the magicians teach him to control it? He didn't think so, he knew he was new to this but Miss Ericson had been very clear that their magical abilities were very different then the "authorities" he and his newfound sibling had.
That's when a light went off inside his head; His sister. The one in China who he was on his way to meet with for the first time. Miss Ericson had told him she was old, experienced, a skilled martial artist and master of Daoist magic. Though he didn't know what those last two big words meant, hope started to shine within the young boys heart.
If anyone knew how to control this strange power it had to be his sister. Who had lived with supposedly similar powers for years. So he stood himself up from his seated position. And started walking down the hill.
He didn't make it ten footsteps before a question popped into his little mind."How do I find my sister", it was a simple question. And it was soon followed by others, like "how do I get down the mountain?", "How far away is China?", "Where is China", "Where in China is my sister".
Doubt replaced the hope shining in his little mind.
"No," Harry thought "I won't give up, If I don't know how to find my sister, I'll just have to find how to find her".
And words appeared within his mind, much like before during the fight with the archer, Harry knew instinctually that these words would help him. They'd guide him to his sister, but he didn't yet know how. Would they leave similar destruction to the previous words? Or would they be worse? Maybe they wouldn't kill anything this time, but could Harry take the risk?
The 4th Godslayer looked around himself, and realised something. The forest was already burned, the grass already withered. There wasn't much left for the words to destroy… so he took the risk, and spoke the words that he'd heard inside his mind.
"Oh nimble hounds of the Aegipan, come join me on my hunt"
As the words resounded through the hills, the child saw thirteen dogs appear before in front of him, they where sleek of build, built for agility instead of brutish strength but through that same link that had told him how to call for them he knew they where stronger then any normal dog should be.
And harry knew through that same connection, that these dogs could find his sister. Harry smiled, as he hugged the nearest dog. That was one problem solved, now only one remained. He was fairly certain that it was a far distance from here to China.
Once again words appeared to his young mind, Feeling confident that these words wouldn't cause another devastating cloud he spoke again.
"For I am Atopemarus, and I ride a mighty stallion".
The dogs had been subtle, but this new creature was anything but. Burning with the intensity of sunlight a large stallion appeared before the boy, forcing him to close his eyes.
The horse dimmed in response, realising it's masters dislike of its burning light it settled for a mere golden shine. Still beautiful in an unearthly manner, but no longer blinding as it had once been.
The child clambered his way onto the horse's back. And guided by his hounds he rode down the mountainside. And as he did so, one last chant resounded through the mountainside. As a white raven flew ahead of him.
"Oh white bird that carries my will"
It would be terribly impolite If he just arrived unannounced.
Bit of a short chapter I admit, but the next chapter is mostly a sparring match where Harry tries to prove Lou Hao that he's worth teaching, while the previous one was mainly about a fight to the death with Harry almost losing because he doesn't know how to fight. So this little bit where Harry finds a resolve to become someone capable of holding his own in a fight seemed out of place in both and really needed it's own chapter for pacing reasons.
I'm kind of tense about the next chapter to be honest. I'm going to need to find a way for Harry to be suitably impressive with 2 authorities one of which has little to no combat-power and the other of which can't easily land a blow against someone who's primary form of defence is wind-based and who can hold her breath for hours. All the while maintaining the sense that Harry is just a child with little to no combat experience and almost no strategic mastery.
I think i've figured out how to do that, I just feel imensely tense about wether intent and execution end up aligning.
This chapter serves 3 purposes. Harry's response to his first "kill", (I know he killed Serqet, but he didn't get to see her die so it didn't garner as much of a response). Harry's reasons for seeking out teaching from Lou Hao instead of just seeking a sibling, and to show the versatility of Harry's 2nd authority a little before next chapter Lou Hao just shows how worthless it is in combat.
Now also: I know that Harry's authority only activates at his will, You know that Harry won't have trouble controlling his authorities. But Harry doesn't know that, and even then some canon authorities *cough*Timetravel*unconvinging-cough* aren't in the complete controll of their owners. So i think Harry has genuine reason for concern.
Next chapter is already pre-written. I'm going to go over it again though before i upload until im at least 95% certain it's good enough.
Also: over 40 followers? is that a lot? I don't know, sure feels like it to me. But then again I didn't expect anyone to care, and honestly I was hoping no-one would care. Now there's stakes and the crippling fear I might disapoint the readers when i upload a chapter.
I guess cripling fear of disapointment is a good motivator at least, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.
Also: To the Guest-reviewer,I'd like to comunicate with you as to the specifics of your critique, could you please log in and PM me so that i can ask further questions as to the specifics of your criticism. I'm here to learn and I can't make out wether your review on chapter 1 is intended to say "your gods are too weak" or "gods shouldn't care about the affairs of mortals" and i'd like to go into a further discussion.
