Hello Everyone! I'm rewriting these chapters so that they are formatted better. I let myself stagnate for too long. I really don't have a great excuse either. I got married and went on a honeymoon, but that was almost 6 months ago. I started streaming on twitch a month ago, but only two days a week, nothing that could have stopped me finishing this story. I will try to be diligent, especially since the release date for Waybound has been announced. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Lindon let his eyes wander over the group of people he was about to leave behind. His parents, sister and Orthos. It had only been months since he had rescued his family from Sacred Valley, his heart ached at the idea of separating again. But time was short, the portal Eithans' homeland would open soon. Lindon absolutely had to advance to Overlord as soon as possible, Eithan had assured him he had just the place in mind for it. As if summoned by his thoughts, a blue shimmering portal burst into being inside of the ornate frame. Zeil wordlessly trudged on ahead, disappearing into the tear in space.
Eithan bowed and waved with a great flourish "It's been a pleasure these past few months, we'll be back before you know it" His eyes rested on Wei Shi Jaran and Seisha "Be sure to keep up with your training, we'll reforge your Iron bodies when we return." His voice was pleasant, but it almost sounded like a threat.
"Don't worry!" interjected Kelsa "I'll be here, they won't miss any training" Orthos grunted in agreement.
Eithan beamed a smile at her "I have complete faith in you little sister" He clapped his hands, nodded to himself and passed through the portal. Yerin just waved before following behind Eithan. Lindon went down the line and hugged each member of his family, when he tried to pull away from Orthos, Little Blue didn't want to let go.
"Go on, little one, this isn't goodbye forever" rumbled Orthos. She eventually let go and climbed back up to her perch on Lindons shoulder.
"Orthos is right," Lindon said to everyone "We won't be gone too long, we'll be back before you know it."
[Or we'll die horrible deaths, there's always a possibility of that] Dross stated. Lindon rolled his eyes and gave one more bow before turning towards the portal. He was a step away when someone cried out "WAIT!"
Lindon spun around to see Mercy flying Suu down the street, nimbly weaving around residents of the Black Flame Empire. She hopped off, skidding to a stop in front of Lindon.
"I thought I was going to be too late!" She exclaimed, holding out a small box. "I wanted to thank you properly for saving me and Pride" Lindon took the small black box, sliding the top back to reveal…"It's tea! The same Aunt Charity drinks, she says that...she…" her eyes grew wide as she caught sight of who Lindon was with.
She cried out and threw her arms around Orthos' neck "Where did you run off to?" She asked
"Hmmm, I had to find a family to advance with." She detached herself as he swung his neck to gesture at Lindon's family.
"Oh wow! You must be Lindon's family, you look so much alike!" She said "I'm Akura Mercy, I'm a friend of Lindon, we were teammates in the uncrowned tournament" The Akura gave a polite bow, which the Shi family mirrored. Mercy bounded up to Kelsa "Are you Lindon's little sister? He barely talks about anything but training. What's your homeland like? What path do you follow? What was Lindon like as a kid? You're so much cuter than Lindon." Kelsa stammered, unsure how to answer the onslaught of questions. Mercy turned her attention to Jaran and Seisha. "You must be his parents! You must be proud, Lindon didn't make it to the top 8, but he made it pretty far in the tournament. Do you live here now?"
By the time the new stream of questions were asked, Kelsa managed to squeak out "I'm actually the eldest sister, I'm on the Path of the White Fox, like the rest of the clan" Mercy looked confused, Lindon felt her spiritual perception sweep over Kelsa and his parents.
She turned to Lindon "I don't understand, what happened?"
Lindon grimaced "Forgiveness, this isn't a secret or anything. In the valley where I grew up, no one was above Jade. Gold was practically a myth." Mercy gaped at him.
Orthos spat out "That valley is cursed, even I was reduced to a Jade over my time there."
Mercy looked worried "So you were only a Jade four years ago? You always talked about a late start and being so far behind Yerin, but that's a steep hill to climb in such a short time."
Lindon's frown deepened "Forgiveness, actually, I was at the Foundation stage when I met Yerin."
Mercy looked horrified now. "How!? Why!? How did this never come up before?"
Lindon stammered "I..ah...like I said, it wasn't a secret. It just never came up. And I've had a lot of help. Yerin and I raided the Heavens Glory lesser treasure hall, where I found a star lotus bud which immediately advanced me to Copper. Eithan...guided me to my Iron body. When Orthos and I bonded it took one of my cores right to Jade. Then once again, when fighting the sandvipers, Orthos pushed me directly to lowgold."
Dross piped up [You left out all of the help I gave, where would you possibly be without me]
Lindon smirked "Pardon, Dross was invaluable as well."
Mercy's horrified face calmed "Even so, advancement that quick is astounding. I advanced quickly for my age, and because I was my Mother's favorite I received the best elixirs and pills. I would have advanced to Underlady at 18, if my revelation hadn't bothered me so much. To reach Underlord in 4 years, it's...kind of scary, in a way."
Lindon looked pained "I've reached higher than I ever thought was possible, and yet, in the end…" Whatever he was about to say died on this tongue.
The gateway to the Rosegold Continent sputtered once, getting ready to close for another 10 years. By all rights, the gate should have been open for the entire day. What had happened for it to close early? There was no time to ponder the situation, Lindon reached out with his spirit and tried to lean on his Authority to keep the portal open, but it was still somewhat new to him. In the few seconds it took to focus his Will, the portal winked out. Lindon darted over to where the portal once stood. He breathed out a sigh of relief, he could feel the distortion that still hung in the air.
Just like when Lindon had re-opened the portal the Sage of the Red Faith left behind, he focused on ripping open the quickly healing distortion. This was much different, the distance was far greater than anything else he had attempted. He was aware that his friends and family were trying to talk to him and asking if they could help. He felt Little Blue climb into the folds of his robe, she no longer fit in his pocket. He was still vaguely aware of time as it passed. All Lindon could concentrate on was using every fiber of his being keeping the tear in space from healing.
Seconds turned to minutes, which dragged onto an hour. As time crawled ahead, Lindon began to fear it would slip from his grasp. Slowly, he was able to gain a little footing, the spiritual pressure lessened by a fraction. His back was slick with sweat, hair plastered to his neck, and his spirit felt like it was ready to collapse. He wrestled with the very fabric of the universe for two hours until, like a dam breaking, the portal tore back open. Lindon leapt forward through it. His family and Mercy were left looking at the space where he used to be, the portal shutting right after he fell through.
Lindon found himself suspended, mid leap, inside the hazy blue of the portal. It didn't feel like he was falling, but he didn't feel still either. It reminded him of when Suriel had stopped time.
Dross spoke up in his head [This is taking a long time, are you sure you opened the gate back up?]
Fear blossomed in Lindons mind. He had been sure...until Dross asked the question. Now, worms of doubt squirmed around his heart. At least he knew Little Blue was safely tucked in his robes, but she couldn't move either. Slowly, Lindon felt his spirit being tugged in some direction, it pulled him faster and faster until a flash of white light blinded him. His eyes just started to adjust when he hit the ground. He had quick enough reflexes to roll into a kneeling position. He took a quick glance around. It appeared as if he were in a slum of some kind. Crumbling stone buildings were being held together with wood structures. Some were in better shape than others. An ornate palace visible in the background. Only a few people were around, but he didn't see Yerin or Eithan. Little Blue burrowed deeper into his robes, crying out in fear; she thought something was very wrong. Lindon agreed.