I get a new name or two
Useful information you should probably check:
Common speech is written normally like any other dialogue "Hello I am Alex"
The light guys language is signified like this: "Hello I am Alex"
And the bad guys like this: "Hello I am Alex"
ENJOY!
THE GAME OF DIVINITY
Chapter 20: And then, there was Light.
I have been slowly drifting inside my old friend the Void for an unidentifiable amount of time. Here time doesn't exist, only the eternal blackness. I had to use every single shred of my willpower to not start screaming in terror at this unholy place. I always knew there was a chance that I would die. That I would never reach the heights the System was capable of helping me reach. I just hoped that when the time came I could rest in an afterlife of whatever world I was. Yet, here I am now, to a place worse than any hell a God can ever conceive.
The only reason I held on for so long was funnily enough the slowly dusting corpse of the Goddess I had slain. It was proof of existence, of a physical thing aside from me inside this hellish oblivion, but second by the second it was turning to dust, absorbed by the all consuming darkness and I knew that the moment it disappeared. It would not take much time for it to consume me too. I could feel a pressure crushing me to my very soul, trying with all its power to erase my existence. No matter how much I tried to resist, an all encompassing despair was taking over my thoughts like I had taken a dive in Cocytus multiplied by 100.
Suddenly everything around me froze. The pressure that was consuming me subsided completely. I could feel myself breathing again and it was then that the System or whoever was responsible for it talked me for the first time since character creation.
DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?
"What? Are you serious?"
DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE THIS PLACE?
"Do you even have to ask? Of course I want to."
THERE WILL BE A PRICE. ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY IT?
I paused. The price could be anything. I didn't know what I would have to deal with. It could be enslavement or I could be turned to a rodent or something. I had to know more.
"What kind of price? I will tell you now that I prefer to be erased from existence than submit myself to eternal servitude. I will either be free in Life or in Death. I don't care which it is. So knowing that, name your price."
IT SEEMS WE HAD CHOSEN WELL, WE HAVE NO NEED FOR SLAVES ALEXANDRA BELLUM. YOUR EXISTENSE IS MEANT FOR MORE THAN BEING A SERVANT TO US.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked but I was ignored.
THE PRICE FOR YOUR SECOND CHANCE WILL BE A MISSION. COMPLETE IT AND YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO YOUR FIRST WORLD WITHIN TWO YEARS TIME FROM THE MOMENT YOU LEFT. FAIL AND YOU WILL BE ERASED. DO WE HAVE AN ACCORD?
"Agreed, but what is the mission?"
YOU SHALL KNOW SOON. FOR NOW TAKE STOCK OF YOUR REWARDS AND YOUR NEW TITLE. BEWARE, WHILE ON YOUR MISSION YOUR ABILITIES WILL BE HANDICAPPED AS A PENALTY FOR FALLING TO THE VOID LIKE AN IDIOT.
I froze.
"Oh come on, you can't blame me for this. The stupid Goddess made a half-assed pocket dimension. How was I supposed to know that her death was going to implode fucking reality?" I whine- I mean defended my actions to the voice but I was once again ignored.
PING*
Legendary Quest: Royal Challenge
Main Objective: Kill the Final Boss and unlock the EXIT Gate.
Bonus 1: Solve Sphinx's Riddle (Y)
Bonus 2: Defeat the Minotaur (Y)
Bonus 3: Defeat the Hydra (Y)
Bonus 4: Seed the Dragon Teeth and defeat the army of Spartoi
(Y)
Bonus 5: Defeat the Golden Eagle (Y)
Bonus 6: Defeat the Forest Guardian (Y)
Bonus 7: Defeat the Great Army of Hades (Y)
Rewards:
Main Objective: 100m xp, 5k D, Title, Skill Book, Special Title.
1: 10m xp, 500 D, Status Crystal(minor)
2: 20m xp, 250 D, Horn, Imperial Gold Axe, Imperial Gold Armor
3: 30m xp, 500 D, 3 flasks of Poison
4: 40 xp, 800 D, Stygian Iron dagger, Skill Book
5: 50 xp, 1000 D, x7 Golden Feathers
6: 60m xp, 1200 D, Tree Seed
7: 70m xp, 1500 D, Skill Book
(QUEST COMPLETE)
Hooboy. Payday is upon me. I am literally able to swim in a bathtub of gold coins al a Scrooge with all these Drachmas.
Due to managing to kill a Divine Being, you have attained a Special Title.
Godslayer(Rank 1): You have done the impossible and have managed to slay a God in one on one fight as a mortal. As a result you have gained the title and prestige of a Godslayer. Your new title allows you to absorb some of the power of the Gods you kill. The more Gods you kill, the bigger the chance of gaining an authority or special ability from your fallen foe.
New Perk: Blood of the Gods(Rank 1): Because you killed a God and 'bathed' in their blood you gain a +20% chance of resistance against Divine spells and Curses, +20.000 increase on your HP and MP and +5% DMG against beings with Divine blood.
Level Up x5
Since you reached Level 30, level ups from now on would need Current Levels Exp + CLXP/3
Status
Name: Alexandra Bellum
Race: Demigod
Gender: Female
Title: Sorceress
Level: 30 (32.031.855/148.691.936)
HP: 58.300 (+33.000) HPReg= 13 % /h
MP: 50.060(+28.000) MPReg= 152 mp/min
FF: 5000 FFReg= 1000/min (when outside battle)
STR: 291
VIT: 153 +28 HP PER 5 VIT x lv
DEX: 183(197)
INT:130(140) +24 MP PER 5 INT x lv
WIS: 125(150) +5 MPREG PER 5 WIS
CHA: 100(120)
LUC: 37(62)
Status Points: 20
CURRENCY: $= 9600, D=17.691, AG= 5000
New Title: Legendary Hero: Herakles Who? You have defeated many of the most fearsome and powerful monsters of your Pantheon and beyond. You have carved your name in the history of your people and gained the respect of many Gods. This title gives you increased positive reputation with all the Gods of your Pantheon and their allies. Enemies of the Pantheon will abhor your existence. +20% DMG against monsters.
Skill Book: Animal Form (Common): Those who read this book gain the ability to transform into a random animal. The animal form cannot be magical.
Skill Book: Blacksmithing: The Art of Forging
Skill Book: Reinforcement
Status Crystal(Minor): By using this Crystal you gain +5 free Status Points to spend.
x3 Flask of Poison
Info: A small crystal flask containing the poison of the legendary monster Hydra. The poison is so potent that all beings equal or weaker by the Hydra die within 3 minutes after being injected with it.
Stygian Iron Dagger
DMG +450
Mana Absorption +1% of the enemy Mana Core
Special: Soul Stealer: All beings wounded by this blade have a part of their soul energy absorbed by the weapon. Non-Immortal beings and monsters equal or lower level by the wielder that are killed with this weapon have their souls completely absorbed in the blade trapping it within as long as the weapon is intact.
Info: A blade made from Stygian Iron, a metal found at the banks of the River Styx. Only those with a connection with Death are capable of holding this blade without getting harmed by it.
Mysterious Tree Seed: A tree seed of mysterious origins. You don't have the required qualifications to know more.
Damn. I gained 5 levels just like that. Not bad, not bad at all. The Godslayer title has a lot of potential and the perk is fucking broken, though I don't think I am going to start hunting Gods anytime soon. Even if they are evil, there is no way even Odin will tolerate me if I make of habit of ending the lives of immortals, so I am going to shelve this title for now until I am strong enough for the notoriety of it to not matter.
The other title on the other hand is definitely a very nice one and I am going to make a lot of use of it in the future.
The Stygian Dagger is kind of useless to me as it is, so no dice there.
The tree seed I have no idea what it does and until I am capable of learning more I am going to ignore it for now. No reason to risk screwing myself over by messing with an unidentifiable magical plant of mysterious power.
Ignoring the poison flasks and the golden feathers I focus on the juiciest rewards. I am talking of course about the Skill Books. This is the first time I encountered such books. Even in Odin's library the books needed to be read normally in order to learn from them and just reading them once wouldn't impart you with all the knowledge. You had to understand the concepts of what you read, so these babies here are a welcome surprise.
First I used the Blacksmithing one. I always liked the whole forging trope to tell the truth and Hephaestus was one of the Gods that I was mostly drawn to when I had to choose my divine parent, though if you asked me now I wouldn't be willing to change my heritage. I really enjoy being a child of War and I am most at peace ironically enough when I can feel the Flames burning inside my soul in a beat that mimics my heartbeat.
Blacksmithing(Lv1): With this skill you make your first step into mastering the noble art of the hammer and anvil. True Masters of the skill are able to create wonders that even Gods gaze upon with awe.
The moment the book was absorbed, a shit ton of knowledge was shoved in my brain. How to build a rudimentary forge. The right temperatures to melt and combine different ores. Purifying metals and the proper way of striking the heated metal with the hammer. When the transfer was done I was knowledgeable enough to create a normal iron sword, though only the knowledge. From what I can guess, I need practice until I am able to truly call myself a blacksmith.
Second I learned the reinforcement spell.
Reinforcement(Lv1):This skill allows you to reinforce the purpose of existence. Examples of it would be increasing the sharpness of a knife, the nourishment of food, or in the case of a living creature, physical strength, speed and durability. It is impossible to reinforce something vague. As living things will resist invasion of Mana, reinforcing someone else is impossible. Cost: 300 MP/min. Increase in STR, Speed and Physical Resistance)x0,5%
It was obviously the same skill shown in nasuverse and for a second I wondered if my luck will start becoming even worse if I imitated even peripherally Emiya Shirou.
I shuddered. My luck is super shitty as it is. If I get infected by the Emiyaness then I am screwed. On the other hand the Lord of GAR is known for being the supreme chick magnet so it could have some positive results as well. I shook my head. It is not time to think about those things.
After that, I used the animal form book and the result made my eye twitch.
Shape shifting (Lv10-Lv15): Your ability to transform yourself into various animals. It needs an exceptional amount of knowledge about the physiology of the animal in order to transform. Current number of forms: 3, Form(s): Red-Tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle, Palomino Horse.
Out of all the animals I could have gained, the horse wasn't one I was expecting. Don't get me wrong I love horses and Ruin is awesome but I really don't like the connotations of being able to transform into a mare. I will have to keep this form as hidden as possible and also stay as far away from Poseidon as possible. Demeter didn't have all that much fun by transforming into a mare near him.
Lastly, I crushed the status crystal totaling my free points to 25 and left them for later and I waited.
After 5 minutes I saw a small white dot far away that was becoming bigger by the second until the light engulfed me and I felt myself falling face first onto a white marble floor.
"Owie" it hurt a little but thankfully my forcefield and increased durability absorbed most of the damage.
"You know, out of everyone that has ever come here, your entrance was the most entertaining of all." a very amused masculine voice that would make Morgan Freeman and every male Opera star singer green with envy said from behind me.
As I turned around and stood up I saw in front me a man looking around 50 years old with platinum blonde hair and a beard long enough to touch his knees wearing white robes. He was smirking at me and his blue eyes were twinkling with humor.
The sheer power he was exuding made Odin look like an ant. Let me tell you, having an Entity (because the title of God wasn't strong enough to describe the presence of this person) so powerful giving you any attention at all was nerve-racking in a very fundamental level. Mortals are just not suited to be in the presence of such higher life forms and I am pretty sure than any other mortal and I am including demigods as well to this would be at best frothing on the ground if they were in my position or simply disintegrating on the spot. Believe me, not a fun way to go.
"If you are quite done having your existential crisis, I believe we should move on Miss Bellum."
Shuddering internally at the Entity reading my thoughts without even being able to detect it I spoke.
"I believe you are right sir. Where you the one who talked to me in the Void? Am I supposed to do a mission for you in order to go home? Ehm and what should I call you sir?" I asked trying to be as respectful as possible.
"Well to answer your questions. I am not the one who spoke to you in the Void, though I know who it was and that person has chosen to remain nameless for now and if I were you I would not search for the identity of your patron until they choose to reveal themselves."
"Second, the mission is supposed to be given by me yes. The aforementioned nameless entity owed me a favor and she has let me borrow your services to fix a little problem I have that we will get to later." he continued in a cheery tone while I got a little annoyed that I was relegated into an errand girl.
"And finally, I am Eru IlĂşvatar, but you may call me Eru for short because my full name can be a mouthful. "
I gaped and after getting over my shock, I spoke.
"You mean, you are the one that created Melkor and the other guys in the Tolkien books?" and promptly put my foot in my mouth.
"You know, the Smillmarilion has many stories and characters inside and the only one you remember by name is the bad apple. I mean really now, what is so good with that brat to make him so popular. The only thing he did was to interrupt our long awaited family concert that we had been preparing for years and then he started to get all bitchy because I punished him for it." replied the Creator God in an annoyed tone griping about rebellious children and greater discipline while I was gawking at him.
"Ahem, let's focus on the crook of the matter. I need you to do something for me because I can't freely interfere in Arda without giving Morgoth(damn he even calls him with his new name) will in return become capable of interfering as well. Since you will be inserted into the world by the power of another God I am getting away for it scot free, you get me?"
"Yes sir."
"Excellent, now you mission is to make sure that a male member of the House of Durin survives the Battle of Five Armies. I don't care how you achieve it. Save one or save them all or even give birth to a heir or something, as long that a son of Durin exist past the reclaiming of Erebor then I am content. Thoughts."
PING*
Mithic Quest: The Line of Durin
Main Objective: Make sure a male descendant of Dwarf King Durin survives the Battle of the Five Armies
Bonus 1: ?
Bonus 2: ?
Bonus 3: ?
Bonus 4: ?
Rewards:
Main Objective: 200m xp, Skill Book, Unlocking of the Gamer System, Return to PJ universe.
Bonus 1: ?
Bonus 2:?
Bonus 3: ?
Bonus 4: ?
Failure
Forever trapped in Arda/ Gamer System stays sealed forever/Possible Death
(YES/NO)
Pressing YES at the quest I quickly replied.
"Okay, first of all the whole giving birth thing you can scratch now. Not happening. Like ever. Saving Thorin Oakenshield or Fili or Kili is doable I suppose. The question is how I am going to join their company. I can't just appear one day and say 'Hey fellas, I heard you are gonna fight a Dragon, I am coming too.'"
"Well no need to worry about that. You are going to be sent in the timeline a bit further back to manage to make a name of yourself and I recommend befriending Olorin. He would easily be able to recommend you."
"Also, you will be joining the world as a Maiar under Tulkas, the Valar of War and with a different name so it would be easy for people to trust you. After all, all Maiar are respected." said the very sunny creator God and I couldn't help but interrupt.
"coughMaironcough*" [Mairon is Sauron's name as a Maiar before he joined Melkor].
Giving me an annoyed look for my cheek he continued.
"Moving on, what you have to know is about the restrictions imposed to you as a punishment for jumping in the Void."
"Oh joy." I replied with a groan.
"Oh it is going to be very amusing. For me that is. For you not so much." he replied with a mischievous grin that I didn't like at all and after raising his hand he blasted me with a white beam of light.
Status
Name: Laergunlneth (Alexandra Bellum)
Race: Demigod
Gender: Female
Title: Sorceress
Level: 30 (32.031.855/148.691.936)
HP: 58.300 (+33.000) HPReg= 13 % /h
MP: 50.060(+28.000) MPReg= 152 mp/min
FF: 5000 FFReg= 1000/min (when outside battle) (LOCKED)
STR: 291
VIT: 153 +28 HP PER 5 VIT x lv
DEX: 183(197)
INT:130(140) +24 MP PER 5 INT x lv
WIS: 125(150) +5 MPREG PER 5 WIS
CHA: 100(120)
LUC: 37(62)
Status Points: 20
CURRENCY: $= 9600, D=17.691, AG= 5000
GRIMOIRE:
MISC. SPELLS:
Warlord's Fang, Observe and Reinforcement are locked
MIST: (LOCKED)
ELEMENTAL: (PATIALLY LOCKED)
Light Affinity: +20% xp when using light based spells and rituals
Lumiomancy (Lv25): Your ability to control light(-25MP to all light based spells). Cost 15MP
Flashlight(MAX): A light type spell that depending on the amount of mana used it can illuminate a set amount of area. Cost: 1 MP for every 10dm of area
Light Ball(MAX): A light type spell that creates a palm sized ball of light that can remain alight alone for 5 minutes and illuminate in a 10 meters radius. If an illumination rune is carved bellow the spell then it can remain as long as the rune is intact. Cost 100 MP.
Laeshi (Lv25): A light type spell that imbues weapons and projectiles like arrows or bullets or even your body with light causing them to deal extra light damage. + 70 dmg, Cost: 35(10) MP/ min. Special: When used against
PERKS:
All Perks aside from the Blessing of Ares, Concussive Force, Valkyrie Wings, Clairvoyance and Forcefield are active.
TITLES:
All titles are available
FAMILIARS:
You are incapable of summoning familiars that are outside of Arda.
By gaining a blessing from a higher Entity you gain.
Title Maiar(Fake): You have been blessed by Eru Illuvatar himself to be his hand in the realm of Arda. As long as you reside in his world, you become immune to the passage of time but not death and you have the ability to alter your body to whatever age you wish, though you will not be able to alter your natural features.
PERK UPGRADE: Voice of the Eldar - Voice of the Valar: By the blessing of Eru Illuvatar your voice has become as good as the most talented Gods of Music. Also this blessing grants you the branch of magic Spellsinger. +30 CHA
SPELLSINGER:
Siren Song(Lv1): Your beautiful voice is capable of enthralling the minds of everyone who hear it, though the stronger the will of the victim the harder it is for you to enthrall them. Cost: 200 MP/min, 5% chance of enthralling beings that are a higher level than you. The higher the level the lower the chance.
Soothsinger(Lv1): Your song is capable of healing some of the wounds and weariness of the ones who hear it. It doesn't work on beings of darkness and evil or those you designate as enemies. Cost 500 MP/min +10 HP/min and Stamina to allies ), 1% chance of curing curse and illnesses.
Song of Light(Lv1): When you are singing using this skill, all allies that don't have a dark allingment get empowered by it and you can even chase away the darkness and despair. Cost 700MP/min, + 10 to all physical stats of all your non darkness allinged allies, DMG +200 to all beings of darkness and evil, 20% chance to cause migraines to your enemies.
"You know that you practically sealed all my combat spells aside from simple weapon usage and light imbuement right? And what kind of name is Laergunthel? I need a whole minute just to say the whole thing." I asked, my voice raised a pitch higher from the horror.
"Yep, sorry lass, I wanted to cut you some more slack but your patron is quite strict. Be happy that I was able to give you the Spellsinger ability. They originally wanted for you to gain that ability as a reward for completing this mission but I was able to give you this concession. " he said in an apologetic voice and I was really grateful for it as well. Of course It couldn't have been so easy and his next words felt like swords stabbing me in the gut repeatedly.
"Also, your name is a very beautiful one. It means 'Song of Sorcery' and I don't think there are many names more apt to describe you than this." he said indignant at even thinking of his naming sense as weird.
"Oh before I forget. You are forbidden from using your spear and you Inventory as well so they will be locked away until the end of the mission. The only items allowed for you to have are your Vanir armor, your bow and whatever accessories you are wearing. Sorry"
And before I could start swearing at this 'happy' piece of news, my Flaming spirit armor and Spear were replaced with my Vanir armor, circlet and bow and with a pulling sensation I was flung away from Eru's plane and crushed on the cold, ground of Middle Earth. The last thing I saw before everything went black was an old grey robbed figure hurrying towards me.
(ERU ILLUVATAR's POV)
The moment the little demigod was teleported away he could feel the presence of one of his brethren appearing in his dimension.
"I said it before but I think you are being too harsh on the child." said Eru, all joviality from his voice leaving and being replaced with a neutral tone.
"Yes, you have said so ********** but she has to struggle and face adversity in order for her to move forward and fulfill her destiny. She won't be able to do what she must if I coddle her." replied the 'voice' with an equally neutral tone.
"I am not talking about coddling her but she could at least have her weapon of choice with her or even her weaker elements aside from light. I don't think Hydromancy or Chloromancy would have boosted her strength so much to not be challenged in Arda."
"I will not have one of the ********** learn to rely on some weapon and the rest of her elements had been used plenty before but the light affinity has been neglected. This is simply a reminder for her to not neglect any of her abilities." the 'voice' replied.
"Also to be clear. You are not to help her anymore, either directly or through an intermediary. Am I clear child?" finished the 'voice' with a chilly tone causing 'Eru Illuvatar' to shudder a little and reply with a subdued tone.
"Yes Mother"
(END OF ERU's POV)
THIRD AGE - YEAR 2800
I came to consciousness with a groan and I felt like my head was going to break. It had been a while since I woke up less than in a perfect condition. It seems the forcefield perk had been spoiling me.
As I opened my eyes I saw myself lying on top of a grey cloak while I was resting my head on a root of a big tree. Everywhere around me I could hear the sound of insects buzzing and the sound of branches creaking by the pull of the wind, making me theorize that I was in a forest of some kind. Not particularly surprising considering that Arda was pretty much forests, a few cities or doomscapes full of Orcs.
"I see you are finally awake. You took your time coming back to the land of the awake, young one" said a wizened voice from my side.
It belonged to an old tall man dressed in a wizard's attire with a pointy hat and all, colored completely grey. He was sitting on a fallen bark of a tree in front of a campfire while smoking his pipe. He had a sword strapped on his waste and a gnarled stuff with a white crystal at the top resting beside him.
His gray eyes had an ageless look and I could see curiosity in them directed at me. I of course recognized his for who he was. He was one of the most iconic characters of the books after all.
"Greetings, Olorin and well met. I am named Laergunlneth." I replied, my voice possessing a musical quality that made both me and him be taken aback for a moment. I didn't expect the perk upgrade to be so potent. This needs further investigation.
Olorin or Gandalf as he is more commonly known had a look of surprise at calling him by his Maiar name.
"It has been a very long time since I was last referred by that name. There are precious few who know of it in the whole Middle-Earth in this day and age so I am curious on how you came about this information." he said all the while his tone didn't change for a moment but I noticed how tense he was and the hardened look in his eyes.
He is probably thinking that I was told of his name by Sauron and that I am another of his servants.
"Peace, my friend. I am a Maiar just like you. This is my first time in Middle-Earth."
"A Maiar" he asked in surprise and I felt his magic inspecting me. From the widening of his eyes, it seems he confirmed my words.
Of course I am not a full fledged Maiar. I just posses the title and the blessing of Illuvatar. I am not a primordial and immortal entity of creation after all. Eru just made sure that I register as one to make my job here easier.
"You are to serve as an Istari here then? Who is your patron?"
"That's what I was told to do. As for a patron, Lord Illuvatar said that I was to serve under Lord Tulkas but I have never met him."
He was horrified. I would be too in his position if I heard that the 'God' of War sent an envoy of his in the mortal world.
In the immortal words of the centaur Firenze of Hogwarts 'Mars is bright tonight'. I was practically a neon psychedelic sign that there was great conflict in the future.
"How is it possible to have never met your own patron? Did you not reside in Valinor?" he wondered.
"Well no. After Lord Illuvatar made me a Maiar, he sent me here directly. I never had the chance to do so you know."
"And in all the time since your creation, you never visited Valinor even once?" he asked in doubt, probably thinking I was yanking his chain, which I was.
"It's not like I was given a lot of free time. I was just given some information of the world and I was chucked to here. Wherever here is." I exclaimed in annoyance
"That is extremely strange. Why would Lord Illuvatar keep you a secret for so many millennia and away from the rest?" he said, thinking that I was created together with the rest of the others and now it is my time to have some fun.
"What do you mean millennia? Our Lord made me a Maiar, like half an hour ago." I shot back, a slight tilt of my head and my eyes widened in an innocent look.
He froze with his pipe a few centimeters from his mouth and a faraway look in his eyes. Internally I was cackling. I am going to have so much fun with pretending to be a baby Istar.
"I see" said the poor wizard with a shuddering breath and I had to use all of my considerable willpower to keep myself from snorting in amusement.
"By the way Olorin, where exactly are we?"
"First of all please don't call that, child. My Maiar name is not one to be used carelessly. After all names have power." he gently chided me.
"And how should I call you then? I don't think it would be polite if I just addressed you as 'Hey you'?"
"In this day and age I am known as Gandalf the Grey" he replied, amused by my words.
"As for our current location, we are slightly East of the Harbor of Mithlond and West of the Shire, the land of Hobbits."
"And what is the year exactly?"
"This is the year of 2800 of the Third Age."
From what I remember from my fantasy genre enthusiast days the Company started their journey to Erebor on the year 2941 of the Third Age. That means that I have 140 years to waste here until I can even start my main mission. Perfect ( note the sarcasm).
"I see. Thank you for the information and for helping me while I was unconscious. I guess I will be going now." I said and I stood up strapping my bow around my torso but I was stopped by the wizard.
"Going where? Why would you leave?"
"Well I can't exactly stay here. This is a new place and I am eager to do some exploring. Travel world, smell the flowers, kill some Orcs. You know, the fun stuff." I replied with a cheery tone while vibrating in place.
I may not be here in Arda by choice but I won't lie about how excited I was. I was given a chance to be away from all Gods and complete freedom to do whatever I wanted. I considered the whole situation here more of a vacation than actually a punishment.
From the second I started this Game I was constantly hurrying, trying to survive either on the road or in war with my years with Freyja being my only exception. So the chance to spend centuries traveling around without obligations or Gods trying to kill me was a big relief. I know of course that Middle-Earth is not without dangers, but considering that Sauron is currently playing possum, the only danger for now is some Orcs who I am more than capable of disemboweling.
"You can always come with me." offered the wizard.
"Why would you want me with you. Aren't Istari supposed to be isolationists?
"Normally this is the case and there is an unwritten rule between us to not bother one another without reason but you are very young and inexperienced and the world is a dangerous place to tread alone."
"Come on Gandalf I am very young but I am not a normal mortal. I can easily defend myself from vagabonds or some Orcs.
"Oh I have no doubt about that but I can't in good conscience let such a young child travel around in an unknown world without even a little bit of guidance.
At his words a sour expression overtook my face and I crossed my hands in annoyance causing him to chuckle in amusement.
"Please do me the favor for this old man's peace of mind."
I harrumphed a bit annoyed at having the old wizard as a babysitter.
"How about a compromise?" proposed the old Maiar.
"What kind of compromise?"
"You will accompany me in my travels for a few years in order to gain some experience with this world and at the end of it you are free to go your own way."
"I guess I can accept that. But you have to promise not to coddle me."
"I have no such plans I assure you. Think of it this way. Right now your only weapon is a bow, you are going to need at least a sword to better defend yourself when enemies come near you and also a stuff which is of great importance for an Istari."
I perked up at that. I always thought that the magical stuffs were very cool and I had to hold back a squeal.
"You are going to help me make a magic stuff?" I asked jumping beside him and looking at him in the eyes while my violet orbs were sparkling in anticipation.
"I guess I will. It would not do to go back on my word is it?" he replied, amused by my rapid change of expression.
PING*
Rare Quest: The Greybeard's assistant
Main Objective: Follow Gandalf on his travels for at least a year.
Bonus 1: ?
Bonus 2: ?
Rewards
Main Objective: + 2m xp, Stuff of the Istari.
Bonus 1: ?
Bonus 2: ?
Failure:
Aimless wandering of Middle Earth/ Decreased reputation with Gandalf/ Possible Capture and Death.
(YES/NO)
"Alright then. I will become your traveling companion for a year." I conceded, pressing YES and accepting the mission.
"Excellent. If you are ready then I believe it is time to be going. We have already wasted a couple of hours of daylight as it is. It wouldn't do to dally anymore."
And with that prompting we made sure that the campfire was completely extinguished and we hopped on his carriage pulled by a hairy horse.
"So where do we go first?"
"We will head East towards Rohan. I have heard rumors of Orc raids and I want to investigate. First though, we will pass through Shire. I have to sell some fireworks I made for them there." he answered, getting a nod.
It took us about a week to reach the Shire. With the pace we were going and together with the time spent selling the fireworks on some very excited Hobbits we reached the village of Bree 11 days into our travelling.
Our time on the road was educating but also quite boring. Gandalf was patient with me, answering questions about everything and anything and told me stories about his travels in the long time he has been walking Arda.
After resting in the Prancing Pony, the Hotel/Tavern of Bree and barely managing to save one lusty bastard from dying through disembowelment by my hands for daring to slap my butt, a very amused Gandalf lead my very annoyed self South through the imaginatively named Green Way that crossed through Cardolan. From there, after 15 days of suffering through the dull monotony of watching green plains slowly passing by we crossed the river of Thanbad.
It was after that when things became a bit more exciting. On our way through Enedwaith we started encountering enemies. Mostly Orcs but also human bandits trying to prey on unsuspecting travelers. My bow and Gandalf made short work of them though and I was disappointed at how weak they were. No wonder most of my power was sealed. If I was on full power I would have been able to find the One Ring and chuck it into Mount Doom in 8 hours flat.
It took use 25 days to reach from river Thanbad the Gap of Rohan because we what to be careful about ambushes and killing the Orcs wasted a lot of our time. Also we had to make detours a few time to assist villages that were being under attack and it was there that I started using my healing song.
If I wasn't busy treating the poor villagers I would have been laughing at Gandlaf's gobsmacked look at me having such ability. The elves were known to be able to use magic with their singing but that was mostly to enhance their crafting skills by using enchantments through their voice. Healing with it had never been done before and after we left the very grateful and awestruck villagers he complimented me in having such a special gift.
Soothsinger(Lv1-Lv7): Your song is capable of healing some of the wounds and weariness of the ones who hear it. It doesn't work on beings of darkness and evil or those you designate as enemies. Cost 488 MP/min +40 HP/min to allies ), 4% chance of curing curse and illnesses.
I was really happy with that skill as well. I may be relatively strong and with the passage of time, trials and dimensions my power shall only grow stronger still, but I don't plan to forever be alone just hunting for more power and the ability to heal those I cherish is a precious one.
We reached the Gap of Rohan on the 51st day since the beginning of our travels. The Kingdom of the Rohirim consisted of open planes with small hills and aside from the Fangorn forest on the North it had scarce few other woodland areas.
As we were traveling through the kingdom, we noticed that the raids from Orcs became more concentrated and brutal. We had found many a village completely destroyed, its people butchered to the last and these sight to be frank disturbed me more that they ought to. I am not some greenhorn. I have fought in wars and I have killed beasts that would make the bravest of warriors fall to their knees in terror at the sight of them.
The crux of the matter however was that I have never encountered such butchery of innocents. Muspelheim was just a demonic fiery wasteland, you didn't feel any guilt about killing everything moving in sight that wasn't an ally and all my other battles were against monsters that I only felt glee in destroying.
Here though, these filthy beasts didn't kill armed opponents or but innocent women and children that could barely lift a sword if they had one. They brutally took these people's lives just for the fun of it and I hadn't been more disgusted in my life.
From that day onwards I became more brutal in my killing of the filthy creatures and Gandalf was looking me in concern from time to time. I even managed to acquire a sword from one of my fallen enemies. It was nothing to write home about. Just a simple blade made with conventional medieval forging process but I managed to amp it up a bit with runes making it slightly better. I even unlocked a new sub-skill.
Runic Enchanting (Lv3): The ability to empower items with the use of Runes. Currently you have a 60% chance to successfully enchant an F-Rank item.
Generic Castle-forged sword (Enchanted)
DMG +60
Special: Runic enchantment: Through the use of Runes you have made the blade ever sharp and capable of withstanding great amounts of punishment. + 30 DMG
Info: A castle forged blade made from iron made in Edoras. Originally wielded by a soldier of Rohan, it was stolen by an Orc raider after killing him and now it has once more changed hands in the same way by ending up with Laergunleth. Her rudimentary use of runes has made the weapon slightly better than the original.
As I said, nothing to write home about and I will replace it the first second I found an adequate spear but for now it will do.
A couple of weeks since we reached Rohan we arrived on the 'capital' of the Kingdom called Edoras. Gandalf wanted to speak with the King in order to understand better the situation here and also to offer our assistance which was fine by me.
Edoras was different from the one shown in the movies. The architecture was pretty much the same, a mix of Norse and mediaeval themes combined together but the city as a whole was bigger than what was shown in LotR 2 to be the King's castle and 20 houses here and there inside half wooden and have stone wall.
First of all the walls aside from the Main Gate (that was made by a very thick sturdy wood), were made completely from stone and were about 15 feet tall. The city inside were obviously mediaeval but surprisingly clean and well maintained and the people while I was looking around were content but I could see and underlining of anxiousness which was understandable considering all the recent raids. There were hundreds of houses built in a circle around the castle that stood on an elevated hill and from what Gandalf told me it also served as a barracks for the standing army.
When we reached the border of the castle, after the wizard introduced himself to a guard we were quickly led into the Throne room. Seems Gandalf is a well known figure around these parts.
Before we entered the throne room's gates that had an impressive amount of horses carved onto them we were forced to surrender our weapons. Personally I didn't care all that much about the sword but my bow was a different matter altogether and I informed the soldier that collected them that if I see a single scratch on it that I will have him watch as I turn his intestines in top knots and use them for many other fun stuff that Freyja was very happy to teach me about. I even reinforced my promise (read: threat) by using a miniscule amount of my aura skill.
By the time I was done, the soldier was trembling like a leaf in the wind, stuttering promises of being extremely careful and everyone else around that heard me were looking at me like I was the Devil himself. Gandalf was giving me a deadpanned look that was barely sufficient in expressing his exasperation with my antics.
After I was finished having my fun, we were led into the throne room and before the King of Rohan.
He was blonde and fair skinned which is the dominant coloring of the people of these lands and quite young. I would wager that his is barely into his twenties and his Kingship is a recent thing as well.
"King Brytta, thank you for agreeing to meet us in such a short notice. This is my young apprentice Celephindis and we have come here to enquire about your recent problems with Orc raids and of course we are happy to offer our assistance shall you need it."
Gandalf was adamant for me to use another name in Middle-Earth than my 'real Maiar name' because it wouldn't do to use names of power like that for nothing and he was the one who names me Celephindis that means 'Silver Tresses' which I like better than my Maiar one. Admitedly being names 'Song of Sorcery is very cool but the Sindarin name of it is both a mouthful and a pain to pronounce. My new one on the other hand rolls on the tongue, so Celephindis it is.
"As the King of Rohan I thank you for your assistant but there is no need for it. My armies have the situation under control and your interference is unnecessary." said the brat with an arrogant look on his face that clearly thought made him appear Kingly but all it did was give him a very constipated look.
Of course me being me I couldn't exactly stay silent at such an obvious freeshot and The Master Antagonizer™ got once more to work.
"If by having the situation under control you mean that dozens of villages had been destroyed and the people put to the sword to the last, then clearly your information gathering leaves much to be desired." I snarked back, making the soldiers in the room bristle in indignation and Gandalf to give an unnoticed groan at my impertinence.
The King revealing his excellent survival instincts replied with his arrogant visage somehow becoming even more prominent, which would have impressed me if the words that came out of his mouth didn't prompt a wholly different reaction out of me.
"I don't expect a little girl to fully grasp the situation here. You are lucky that your Master is a very respected figure or you would have been flogged for insulting a King. Women should occupy themselves with the birthing and rearing of children and not with military matters that are above their ability to comprehend."
I froze. Intellectually I knew that the era I was residing right now was not kind to women, at least for the race of Men, but I expected that the piece of shit sitting on that throne would have understood that Gandalf, one of the five fucking Istari wouldn't have chosen to apprentice just anyone.
Furthermore the blonde prick called me, a child of War and a veteran to boot, even if he didn't know I was any of those things incapable of comprehending military matters. Yes, as you can understand my reaction wasn't exactly subdued.
It started with my sarcastic smile being removed from my face and getting replaced with a scowl. After that my violet eyes started turning red and I could see Gandalf from the corner of my sight slightly shaking his head at me in order to stop me but I ignored him.
Seeing my starting to grit my teeth, the ponce was about to open his mouth in order to dig his grave deeper but he wasn't fast enough because a literal aura of red and white power exploded out of me and there was enough killing intent to make everyone in the room bar Gandalf himself to instantly fall to the ground, paralyzed in terror.
"Y OU I N SIG NIF ICA NT L I T T L E M OR TAL, IN NO CE N T P EO PLE, YOUR PEO PL E A R E B E I N G CULLED B Y T H E HUNDREDS A S W E S PE A K A ND YOU ST A N D HERE P R O C L A IM IN G T H A T EV ER YT HI N G IS UNDER CONTROL W HIL E YO U IN SULT ME, A MAGE, AND SPIT TI NG OF O U R O F FE R OF H E L P. TE LL M E MONGREL, DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?"
As I was speaking, my voice reverberated throughout the whole city and underneath me the ground started cracking from the pressure. I was doing a very good Galadriel impersonation if I say so myself.
By the time Gandalf managed to calm me down and stop me from turning the shitty Kings intestines into tapestries to decorate his walls, (Freyja taught me well) everyone (King included) was very eager to accommodate us and our offer of help was quickly and gratefully (read: fearfully) accepted.
After the King and his guards excused themselves for a moment to deal with an urgent matter of the state (read: change their pants) we were led into a big room eith a tablw depicting the map of Rohan and the raids that have been made until now. From what they could theorize, these Orcs are the remnants of the army that had fled Moria after the end the Battle of Azanubizar with the Dwarves.
The King has been sending patrol on the North-East borders hoping to catch the raid parties as quickly as possible but they rarely managed to find them before they had inserted themselves deep into Rohan territory and his only reaction to this was just sending more soldiers. No wonder they couldn't catch them and I told him so.
"What do you mean by this? I have done my best to reinforce my endangered borders as much as possible." he said slightly indignant but his fear of me made him hold his tongue.
"Your strategy is not faulty in thought but considering their ease with which they are bypassing these patrols means that either they have a spy in your court which is unlikely or they are not coming in from the North East border and they just left a small number of their troops doing so to keep your attention there while moving their main forces from elsewhere." I finished making him and his strategist look at me like I sprouted a second head.
"There is no other place for them to pass through from the North. The only other way they could come is through the forest of Fangorn and it is known Orcs avoid that cursed place like a plague. Not even the most foolhardy of them would dare to enter those woods."
"What about the Misty Mountains then? Could they have been able to traverse the paths from there and pass through Nan Carunir, close to Isengard?"I asked and instantly Gandalf replied.
"No my dear, Saruman the White, the strongest of our order resides in the Tower of Isengard. Orcs would have never been able to pass through there without great costs."
I wanted to tell him about what kind of dick Saruman the White truly was but I decided to let it go for now. It is not a time for that kind of discussion.
"If that is the case then the only possible alternative is that the Orcs aren't actually from Moria but they are coming directly from the West."
I was going to say more but I was once again interrupted.
"The Orcs of Mordor are kept at bay by the armies of Gondor. We would have been notified if such big hordes of them have managed to pass through" said one of the commanders.
"Are you sure about that? As you say Gondor has always kept them at bay, so it would be a really big strike to their pride if they acknowledged that they have been slipping in their duties isn't it?" I said making everyone blanch at my insinuation.
"Bu-But they are our allies, we can't accuse them with no proof." stuttered the greenhorn King in trepidation.
"And you won't." I assured him, making him let a sigh of relief. "Baseless accusations is for idiots, here we deal in facts. That's why I will personally scout the lands West of Rohan and maybe I will find some clue. Gondor may be skiving on their duties or maybe the Orcs are coming from somewhere else. No matter what it is I am going to figure it out. What you must now do is order your people to leave the North-West areas of your country and move East while you reinforce the whole borders. Once I return from my scouting mission then we will act depending on the information." I declared, my Kingly aura on full force making everyone stand straighter in my presence.
"No milady." replied the mortals.
"If that is the case then I need someone to bring me my bow and sword so I can start." I declared.
"But milady, we need sometime for the rest of the scouts to get ready."
"What other scouts? There will be none else coming with me. They will only slow me down."
"Absolutely not. Strong you may be but if you encounter too many Orcs then even you can get overwhelmed." shouted Gandalf, talking for the first time since we started the strategy meeting.
"They won't be able to detect me Gandalf. I will be perfectly fine" I said with an eyeroll to the worrywart.
"Orcs have extremely good sense of smell. No matter how good is your stealth, sooner or later you will be detected."
"Stealth? Who said anything about stealth? I will just fly by. In one week tops I will be back." I said making everyone look at me like I declared that a Balrog is cuddly cutie that I want as a pet, which admittedly only the first part is wrong.
"What do you mean fly?" asked Gandalf and I thought that an image was better than a thousand words so I jumped on top of the table and transformed into my Golden Eagle form.
The moment they saw a 5 foot nothing girl transform into a bird of prey, Gandalf's face took an expression of great revelation, the soldiers jumped back in fear and I think there was a manly (read: girly as fuck) scream of fear from some of them and the King froze in place and after that his eyes turned on the back of his head and fainted.
The next morning after reassuring Gandalf that I would be careful I transformed into my avian form and flew West.
Twenty minutes into my flight I noticed band of Orcs no more than 20 of them moving deep into Rohan territory and I found a perfect chance to get some more information. After I found a narrow pass a bit further along their destination I stood on top of it hidden and waited.
The moment the started crossing it I acted. I through a great boulder in front and after that behind them to trap them in place followed with another two, making sure to not harm the most imposing of them and as a result the leader. This strategy killed about ten of them and my light-imbued arrows dealt with the rest minus their leader as they desperately tried to find an escape.
Done with the trash I shoved two more of my arrows in the last Orc's and leaders knees, taking slight pleasure from his screams of pain and I leisurely approached him. Putting the tip of my sword at his neck I spoke.
"Why are attacking Rohan? Talk"
"I will tell you nothing whore." replied the creature in black speech, the language of Mordor.
Considering how much the books and movies described the disgusting effect of the language had on them about hearing it I was sorely disappointed. Yes it was guttural and harsh but I felt nothing from it. No power or trepidation. My only guess is that because I was an outsider, whatever magic was used to unnerve the 'light' of the folk of Arda didn't affect me, which was good.
Surprising the Orc even further I replied in his own language.
"Oh you will talk filth. I am patient and I can stay awake for days if I must." I shot back and made a scratch on his left arm with my light coated blade causing him to scream in agony.
The stubborn thing was refusing to cooperate. If I wasn't pressed for time I would be impressed by its loyalty. Seeing that my initial approach wasn't working I decided to test one of my new abilities.
I started singing while using Enchantment. In two minutes straight he was silent and compliant. My thrall became willing to answer all of my questions.
Siren Song (Lv2): Cost: 199 MP/min, 5,2% chance of enthralling beings that are a higher level than you. The higher the level the lower the chance.
From what he told me, the raids on Rohan came from the Master in order to weaken the Kingdom and the plan was to continue these attacks for decades into the future drawing the attention of the Men and Elves leaving the aforementioned Master to accomplish his plans secretly, though he didn't what those were but I had an idea what those were.
After that he told me that they had created a great encampment in the crags of Emyn Muil and everyday more Orcs were coming from Mordor through the Death Marches.
Lastly I asked about Azog the Defiler but aside from the fact that he survived his injuries the Orc was not important enough to know.
Done with my 'interrogation' I chopped his head and transformed once more into my Eagle form and headed for Emyn Muil. It took me only an hour to reach there and an addition thirty minutes to find the encampment and the situation was bad.
There were around 5 thousand Orcs congregated inside a massive encampment and I could also see small bands of them trickling in from further behind while others were heading for either directly to Rohan or talking a Northern path probably to act as decoys.
My scouting done, I turned North and headed towards Dol Guldur. Now that I have come till her I thought it would be a good chance to check if Sauron has already occupied the place. It took me half a day to reach the southernmost point of Mirkwood and as I approached the dilapidated castle I felt the corruptive presence as well as obscuring words hiding from only the most skilled of sensors. Unfortunately for them I was such a sensor, an apprentice of Freyja could not be anything but a Master in magical sense if they ever wanted to graduate from their apprenticeship.
Confirming Sauron's location I turned back. It was not yet time to deal with the filth. I planned to chase him away way before Thorin started his quest though. Gandalf having to leave the Company caused a lot of problem that I was hoping to avoid.
It took me almost a day to reach back to Edoras from Dol Guldur and when I arrived it was midday. Descending in front of the palace Gates I transformed back into my human form startling the guards standing outside and was led to the throne room were King Brytta was waiting together with Gandalf and I requested a meeting to be convened immediately.
Ten minutes later everyone gathered in the strategy room waiting for my report.
"Well then, what did you find?" prompted Gandalf and I complied, explaining my discovery of the Orc party and the fact I interrogated the leader though I didn't say how, leaving it to my audience's imagination and smirking at their shudders. I told them what the Orc told and my own discoveries in Emyn Muil drawing outraged looks from the Rohirim at the insidious and the long term plan of the Orcs and I noticed Gandalf flinch when I mentioned the Master.
After that the King thanked me for my assistance in bringing such important information to him and I noticed for the first time that he was looking at me with honest respect and he told us that he will send this information to Gondor to warn them and ask them for assistance.
For the next few weeks I took off everyday traveling all around Rohan and killing as many Orc parties as I could find and healing people here and there wherever possible. I also scouted ahead and guided the patrols of Rohirim on the correct places to attack and block the Orc incursions, using my singing to empower them and after the battle ended heal them as well.
By the time a plan of attack was decided I had become very famous in Rohan. The common folk and were praising me for all the help I gave them, protecting them and healing their wounds and the soldiers were standing straight at attention every time they saw me calling my "Lady Commander" which admittedly did great things to my ego.
One year since my arrival on the spring of 2801 of the Third age the Rohirim armies has managed to repel more and more of the raids and a plan was put in motion. The armies of Rohan would attack from the East side of the crags drawing the attention of the Orcs while Gondor would send many smaller parties from the sides in order to flank them. Gandalf would ride together with Brytta at the front of the army while I in eagle form would fly ahead in order to neutralize scouts and watch out for ambushes.
By the time summer had come all Orc presence in Eren Muil has been extinguished and I was declared a fried of Rohan.
Soothsinger(Lv7-Lv15): Your song is capable of healing some of the wounds and weariness of the ones who hear it. It doesn't work on beings of darkness and evil or those you designate as enemies. Cost 474 MP/min +80 HP/min to allies ), 8% chance of curing curse and illnesses.
Song of Light(Lv1-Lv5): When you are singing using this skill, all creatures of light get empowered by it and you can even chase away the darkness and despair. Cost 700MP/min, + 15 to all physical stats of non darkness aligned allies, DMG +225 to all beings of darkness and evil, 21% chance to cause debilitating migraines to your enemies.
In that time I was also given the option to submit my quest and the first bonus objective was revealed to be the stopping of the Orc raids but I hadn't accomplished the second one so I chose to wait.
Done with our time in Rohan, Gandalf choose to lead us towards Lorien to visit the Lady Galadriel and also most importantly for me to collect the first part of the pieces needed in order to create my staff.
The moment we stepped inside the borders of the forest I could feel a powerful barrier inspecting us and our intent. It felt like I passed under a small waterfall and this feeling clued me in on the fact that the Lady Galadriel used Nenya the Ring of Water in order to empower her borders wards and keep the dark influence of Dol Guldur at bay.
Twenty minutes after we entered the forest we got surrounded by elves and after getting blindfolded (which was unnecessary because I could feel the beacon of power coming from about a mile ahead), we were led into their dwelling.
One we arrived we had our blindfolds removed and we were led to meet the masters of the territory which were the aforementioned Lady Galadriel and her husband Celeborn.
The lady of the house was truly and utterly enchanting in her beauty. The actress playing her in the movies was very beautiful but she just couldn't imitate the beauty of the real thing. No wonder everyone that looked at her was awed by her presence and if I hadn't met actual Goddesses with Aphrodite and especially Freyja that surpassed all other women mortal and immortal in beauty I would have been awestruck as well.
" Welcome in Lothlorien Gandalf the Grey. Would you introduce me your companion ?" said the she-elf trying to look stoic but I could sense she was unnerved. Why you ask? Well she couldn't use her little trinket in her finger to read my thoughts. After you spend a few millennia being able to easily invade everyone's mind to gauge their intentions, when you find someone completely blocking you then it's easy to guess that you wouldn't be exactly happy with it.
~ChildeOfWar