Chapter 12, Merry Men

The bags under the man's eyes were his most prominent feature, paler than he ought to be by the way his tanned skin had whitened greatly. Color wasn't the only thing that seemed to have been drained out of his body, a loss of weight had tightened the skin at all points around his face. He possessed a near perpetual scowl that suggested a great sense of disdain for life to the point that close to nothing could impress him.

God I looked like such shit.

I'm not much of a vain man, there wasn't much to brag about to begin with, but I knew a trainwreck when I saw one. Light splashes formed as I sunk into the bath, moving away from the mirror so that I wouldn't have to look at the sorry excuse of man that I'd become. I really didn't want to do any more introspection, already knowing that I wouldn't like what I'd figure out about myself.

The warm waters felt wonderful against my dry skin, and I wanted nothing more than to drown in it. Just to feel the blood flak off my body as the soap took a weight off my form, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

"Arooof!"

Only thing left was to neuter these fuckers and life would just be peachy. The first time the opportunity had come up I had shut them out of the bathroom, but allowed them entry this time. Some part of my brain already knew that, and was simply waiting for me to acknowledge my changing attitude when it came to them.

Their scratching at the bathroom door had flipped some switch inside of my brain, and reminded me of some of the times I had dogsat. I could see in them, in how tilted their head when someone spoke directly to them. How I didn't need to be as heavy handed with my demands, and could use some verbal commands to achieve the same effect.

I could see the dog in them now, to the point that it was unavoidable.

Didn't help with how annoying the fuckers were now, taking on certain traits of dog breeds back home. Namely, how loud that huskies tended to be, and using it to voice their complaints whenever they pleased. Especially since they wanted in with me while bathing, but I wasn't interested in smelling like a wet dog once this was over.

Kinda defeats the point.

For now they'd have to settle for being in the same room as me, a line had to be drawn somewhere. My magic wasn't up to snuff to back up any of the metaphysical threat I made toward the mutts, but they didn't know that. Good behavior had to be maintained somehow, and I desperately need to replenish my stash of dog treats at the soonest possible opportunity.

My mana 'system' had been drained before, and sustained a hit after that last bout so I was feeling a bit sensitive. The less said about how nearly being one-shot by some evil magical kidnapper, the better off my ego was.

Hard to say where the issue was stemming from exactly, though I was lucky that I hadn't been fully locked out of my magic. I was weaker to be exact, easier to tire as the little pouch where I could store a spell in reserve kept slipping through my fingers.

Magical energy could be created by the body, probably converted from the heat or purely chemical forms found in organisms. It could then be accessed and shaped through a combination of mental commands by a user, and or instructions inscribed with material that was magically conductive. That would then suggest that something like our nerves held that same conductive property, supported by the psychic bond I had with my wolves.

After that, some equivalent to magical ligaments and other connective material helped with using that strength without receiving backlash. That was another entire mess, that I quite literally had close to zero understanding behind the inner workings. I had decided quite early on to save research on the subject for a later date.

Plants can also hold a magical 'change' just as some non-organic objects can, but how a pair of glass shoes were equivalent to magical batteries eluded me. Not everything was like the various magical items I had come across. Most food items held just enough of a magical charge that I was able to detect a 'tingle' before my body deconstructed its core components, and simply became fuel.

The flesh that I took from the abnormally large bear lingered, and it took my body longer to digest it. I hadn't felt the need to eat as much whenever I tore into it, and the pups had eagerly devoured all that I had. So further testing on that front would have to be postponed.

Although. . .

Focusing on my pets. The two canines differed in dozens of ways from their Terran counterparts, and likely held several hundred more details under the surface. While our mental connection did go both ways, the sheer amount of information I received mostly ended up in the mental trash bin.

They were looking far skinnier than when I had first picked them up, but 'Brother' was still a bit larger than 'Twin Sister' was. Though not by much. Yet still light enough that I could still lift either of them onto my shoulders even with my busted arm. Another part of me wondered how much stronger I'd psychically grown during my time here. Call it ego, but I had wanted to get stronger despite the time constraints that my work and education had placed upon me.

Both already seem to reach my waist, and so were about three feet tall in shoulder height now from the one and half~ish they had been before. I knew them to not even be one summer old yet, their memories spilling into my mind at an angle with muted colors. Born in Fall, lived through the Winter, and both were eager for what they understood to be Spring from looking through my memories.

They had been wary and feral at the beginning, our relationship had slowly changed with the more control I regularly exerted over them. Eventually they learned. . ? It was hard to say when they stopped acting like wolves in my presence, but they learned how to properly respond to my commands like domesticated dogs would.

Their grey coats hid a brown undercoat, I only knew about them in the first place from brushing their hair back when they'd let me scratch their fur. Being as temperamental as they once were, and to an extent still are, that particular fact had come at the cost of a small scar on my left hand. A teardrop shaped patch over lighter skin along the back of my palm, it wasn't my worst looking scar at least.

Neither of them got fed that day.

Using them as the benchmark for magical experiments would be pointless, I don't think any of us fall within the range of 'normal' to begin with. All the other mages, including 'Konstanca', didn't share any of the same magical wiring I had that formed connections with animals. I was. . . 60% sure I had never encountered anyone with the same thing before.

Regardless, the 'Booster' graded materials for magical energy seemed to have more of an effect on them than they did on me. It should've taken longer for them to reach adulthood if it wasn't having a substantial effect. Unless I was more clueless about the intricacies about canine life cycles than I already suspected myself to be. That was always a possibility.

But unlike the other two forms of magical conductors, I had come to refer to the most enduring type of material as 'Catalysts'. The gem that hummed greedily in my pockets only stilled during times when I spilled blood, and I could taste the tea that Anna had given me when I licked my lips.

A hint of mint followed by honey.

On their own they had appeared to be as mundane as anything else, but quickly flared to life upon physical contact. Quickly activating their effects by siphoning off excess mana that my body was shedding. All of them took a different form as my body incorporated them in various levels of integration.

Splash!

Motherfucker.

Brother's big dopey grin was soon joined by whining coming from Sister who had suddenly stood up after witnessing her siblings' impatience. Irritation spread across my brow at the thought of having to cut this short. A groan left my lips while my pup growled and nipped at my split hand for attention like the big baby he was. Eying the thin patch of fur in his coat for the arrow he had taken to one of his back legs. I stood up, breaking my bath early and using my pet's entry as an alarm.

Going over magic theory was starting to hurt my brain anyway, it was pure cope, but what was I supposed to do about it? Write a book on it, or take the even more unbelievable path. Teach a class on it? I wasn't that delusional yet. I knew full well how bad things would go if life took me down the path of becoming a damn professor's assistant.

My decaffeinated mind already jumped at the metaphorical shadows in the corner of every room, but I now had a battle instinct yelling at me to stab people. Ideas I had thought up, and promptly forgotten the moment something else came up as caution had outweighed scientific progress at the time. Part of me regretted not taking in more of the world, that was only softened with the half decent excuse that I'd been constantly fighting for my life until now.

TLDR?

In a way, one could reasonably make a comparison between the Magical system and the body's Muscular system. Now that would be an incredible oversimplification on my part, but yet not entirely incorrect of a thing to suggest.

Truthfully my appearance wasn't absolutely terrible from an outsider's point of view, a bit worse for wear but it had improved since arriving. While crossing the border into this smaller nation meant little to me, I had no choice but to acknowledge how much it had lifted the children's spirits.

"Adolf!"

Burni had perked right up, latching onto me the moment that I made my way into the mansion's main dining hall. I ignored the tinge of pain that swept over my torso still wrapped in bandages as I knelt down to take her into my arms. Shooting her an amused look, I allowed her to ramble about the day she had spent in the company of the local lord's younger son and her own sister.

"Good day to you too Burni," I joked to break up her rambling as we strode to the center of the dining hall where Chris was watching us from with his brother and Edel. My focus flickered over to his mischievous smirk before blowing him off to focus on the girl in my arms, "You ready to eat?"

"[I'd hope that she'd be] considering [all the] trouble [that you've] gotten [into," At my questioning glance, Chris continued knowing that he now had my full attention once we were within arms length of each other. Benedikta's face reddened at the reference of an event that I had not been informed on before stuffing her face in my chest, "[The] guards [had quite the laugh over it, and I'd bet that you'd love to hear about it too]."

"Hope it was not too much," I quipped while bending down to allow Burni to separate herself from me, and she in turn hid under the protection of my cloak. Glancing around I noticed the hint of amusement that some of the servants had at my words, "Can't be too bad if you all are in one piece. . ."

Could've sworn that I heard a woman's laughter ring out in the hall, reminiscent of wind chimes that I'd not heard in weeks. Red hair flickered at the edge of my vision, and promptly disappeared from view while briefly glancing in the direction in question. I had hoped that I'd be able to talk with Anna soon, perhaps I should make a trip the market being that this nation might be more amenable to my presence.

"Benedikta [was] amazing! [You] should've [seen it sir," Chris' younger brother shouted out excitedly, one could argue that he was vibrating with barely caged youthful enthusiasm. Pulling up his sleeve to reveal a long white scar that stretched down the length of his arm, "[Look, there's [not even much of a scar left]!"

A sense of irony washed over me at the sight of such an old scar on the boy that I had been fairly certain didn't have just a day ago. Figuring that he was older than he appeared in reality, and was just short for his age.

For a moment I actually expected that magic would've had more of an effect, until my brain reminded me of what sort of world I lived in now. Case in point, gray hair usually only comes in with age, and certainly not looking like that. Redheads typically weren't as vibrant as Anna had insisted on being, and the few bluenettes I'd seen boggled the mind. It was neat, if a pretty staggering reminder whenever I got too complacent.

This wasn't home, I didn't belong here.

It was good news though, remaining contemplative whilst I hummed to myself as Chris's brother continued to laud Burni with praise. While I wasn't expecting for either of the girls to be displaying a talent for magic this early, my own presence might've served as a sort of catalyst for her growth.

Theories were good and all, but the results spoke for themselves. A sparring match had strayed a tad too close to becoming a disaster as Edel was intent on making good use of a recovering Ashe. You could tell where the wooden blade had torn apart skin despite the blunted edge as the boy had raised it to defend himself. While the attention had luckily moved away from the incident, Edel was hanging back with an emotionless expression guarding her inner thoughts.

"[There is no need to feel bad over it," I lacked the words to adequately reassure her, choosing to downplay it as something she would have time to learn to correct. She didn't need to be rushed. This was better as a learning experience for the both of them rather than a redundant lecture, "[No one can fault you for a mere lapse in a fight like that]."

Even if the kid gave off the vibe that something was wrong with him, it wasn't far enough along that I thought he was a real threat. A bit awkward, with the same sort of tension in his frame that I could recognize on my own, but certainly not malicious.

The sliver of magical power that I had managed to recover in these short days insisted that there was more behind the scenes, but no one could say that I lacked patience.

"[I] deserve [worse," One might've thought that a level of bitterness would accompany those words, but in its place was a sort of tired resignation. Flinching at the sudden touch of my hand as I ruffled her hair.

Her response hadn't been what I was expecting, but it was a sentiment that I was incredibly familiar with. I should've predicted it, given all the tribulations that we had gone through to get here. Someone who had gone through all the effort to track the twins down wasn't to be trifled with, and I couldn't allow any bad ideas take root inside of her head.

"[You did go too far]. [Even if the harm done had not much power in the blow," Moving my splintered hand to her shoulder I gave her a squeeze as I explained, the others quieting down as they listened in. Edel's gaze was focused on the polished tiles beneath our feet while busy digesting my word, "[With time away from the ring, where your blood does not rush]. [Did you mean to try to kill him, to make him hurt]?"

The seconds passed as she visibly racked her brain to sift through her feelings. It was fortunate that my form blocked the others from seeing her briefly frown as she came to discover something that displeased her, "[No]. . ."

"[Good. There is much more to you than this, to lose sight in a fight is one thing," It wouldn't be good to dwell on such things at the present moment, not with an audience that Edel had seemingly forgotten about. Whatever internal conflict lingered after today would have to be handled carefully, [But to take joy in what you did would be bad for you]. [You are eager, and far from evil]."

She might've worried me in my early days since coming here, but I'd developed a better eye for this sort of thing. One had to if they wanted to keep a leash on a bunch of wolves, even now they were only refraining from jumping on the children with the very pointed 'looks' that I was sending them. Personally I think that I've made great progress in developing a sense of discipline in them, and while it wasn't enough to domesticate them. Getting this far in the taming process was more than simply satisfactory.

"[Yeah]! Besides [I got super] overconfident [and] underestimated [your] skills," Ashe suddenly jumped into our conversation, and even got Edel to jump slightly from where I was holding her. , "[All you did was prove me wrong, but I'll] definitely [beat you next time]. [So you] better [bring your] A-Game!"

Edelgard had a genuine smile on her face at that, seeming to have more of a competitive spirit than I did at least. Each of the sisters had their own issues, of that I was certain, and while I sure that this wasn't something within my skill set to fix. I knew better than to stand idly by, and even if it made me feel like an old fucking man. Their wellbeing was my first priority and dictated the rest of the actions I had taken to date. Hopefully Chris would be able to help me by upholding the promise he had made to me, he seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about these sorts of things.

"I hope everyone has built themselves up ," The sound of a pair of doors drew our attention back to the set dining room, a trio of children younger than Ashe but sharing his hair color raced across the room to tackle Chris. Chris awkwardly chuckled while it looked like it was his name under the chopping block from how terse his father's tone was, "Christophe, you wouldn't mind explaining yourself would you?"

Our shared plans might have to wait if the sheepish look Chris offered me was anything to go by. But I was fine with waiting for the politics to be dealt with if the weary look on his father's face matched the extense documents he'd brought with him. Options I assumed, but I was mostly fine with waiting if it meant that this could be done with already.

At least until I could hand them off to someone trustworthy that was capable of keeping them safe. But how hard could that be in a fantastical medieval Europe full of heroes.

My naivety hadn't quite completely withered away as the next few days would reveal.

Fate Omake

1986

I've been kidnapped.

Actually on second thought, can you technically even kidnap an adult? Would it make me a hostage? I've been taken against my will either way, so I suppose the distinction doesn't make much of a difference either way.

Wouldn't be the first time I was in a void, but this one was by far better. I think the only reason that I was conscious was due to that experience. My memories were a mess, a constant conflict between two near identical lines of thought.

Throne of Heroes they called it, significant people ended up in the place by the will of God I guess? Whether I qualified was met with an answer that essentially boiled down to a 'so~so' gesture from the picturesque woman explaining it to me. Saw a few versions of my own namesake, it was kinda weird to meet the real Hercules. We don't get along, but then again it would probably reflect badly back on myself if we did. Not that there was much of a conversation to be had there, but it would've been nice.

He wasn't the more modern interpretation of the figure, but far more of his era than you'd expect. Shame. Especially since the others said that I was a dead ringer for my more divine counterpart, thinner and weaker while largely being hidden away by my cloak.

Having information forcefully shoved up my ass, and having my existence enslaved wasn't good, but it could be worse. Just speaking to some of the other people here told me that it could be so much worse. Well, we didn't really 'speak', since that requires air for the sound to travel through but the point stands.

We couldn't do much here, but those amongst us who could speak did. Instantaneous communication was disorienting, but we had power here to simulate the passage of time.

"Anyone have any fives?"

A chorus of no's and yes's ran through our little group playing a game of Go Fish. For some reason the great king Gilgamesh has a set of magical playing cards. A noble phantasm of some sort, whatever that is. Several people here were of the divine nature, and had some level of resistance to the effects of this cage. They acted as the foundational members of our group, but not everyone ended up here.

God, in particular the one with the big G still had some pull when the real decision makers were spurned into motion. Gaia and the immortal spirit of Mankind seemed to be eternally at each other's throats, with us as their pawns.

"Ten?"

Fairies went to Avalone from what I'd heard, and there were creatures even more unknowable than those freaks at the edges of reality. Apparently I was still close enough that I had gotten scooped up before splitting off too far from the shared path that Earth was supposed to follow.

CRASH!

"You good?"

"I'm fine."

The sound garnered some interest, someone had come back from being summoned. It had been EMIYA, he lay on the 'floor' unconscious and in absolute tatters. His graph was putting him back together, and no matter how many times I asked he would always say that it brought him no pain.

I didn't trust it.

Usually groups of servants would get cleaved in half, where a great hand would then pull a copy from their corpse before putting them back together. Most of the time the people who were most relevant to the situation were the ones to get nabbed. Seven or fourteen at a time, sometimes less or more depending on the occasion that demanded such a thing. EMIYA was a special case even amongst them, counter guardians were just weird like that I suppose.

"How was your trip?"

Most people didn't care, likely because they physically couldn't, and others like our resident King of Kings considered it below him. The other Emiya wasn't as good of a conversation partner as his brighter twin, so I was glad to have him back. Eternity could be so boring with the company we kept.

"It was nothing good, but I did what had to be done."

. . .

That isn't ominous at all, nor disconcerting to hear from the regenerating gap of a head that had been torn in half. In truth, I was probably being dramatic, but I don't think my mortal mind was meant to comprehend all of the things happening around me. While I wasn't quite divine, my origins made it easier to see where the boundaries started and ended.

And it was starting to drive me insane, or maybe it already had.

The Earth I once knew didn't exist here, and the place I ended up didn't either. A History that I had called my own was deemed insufficient and everything was promptly erased before I had been scavenged. I had not been there to witness the end, but I desperately wanted to know why my home had offended Humanity so badly it had to be rid of. What happened during the time I had been gone? It couldn't have been a few months.

I was being torn into, more information of a time and place foreign to me flooded my mind. This wouldn't break me, my captor would not lose a new toy so easily. Kept from breaking as this current version of my consciousness was shoved into a custom made body for the journey ahead.

Huh, would you look at that? So this is how it feels like to be chosen. . .

Chapter 11 Note: ()

-Not much to say, this chapter's mostly filler before I make a final decision regarding where to take the story next.

Choices (optional to participate in) Reputation Stages: Nemesis Monster Villain Scoundrel Rival Mixed Collaborator Ally Patron Champion Idol.

NEW!

1) Available until Chapter 13.

This revolves around project Homeward Bound, which will lead to Alcides returning to 'Earth' in some form or another. Depending on the progress made certain different outcomes will occur. Regardless of choice, Alcide's personal skill will undergo a change to reflect the plot. Note: Alcides will soon become one of TWSITD's subject of interest, the following choices will influence what from that takes.

Universal Consequences: Reputation with Revisionists will reach Patron. Reputation with Nobility will reach Collaborator. Reputation with Insurrectionists will reach Rival. Reputation with Theophagists will reach Villain.

] [Focus on Past] 3 Homeward Bound completion. Improvements to relationships with Cornelia, Lambert, and Hapi. Factions: Reputation with Monarchists will reach Ally. Reputation with Transhumanaists and Perpetuals will reach Collaborator. Reputation with AMC will reach Rival. Finally, the creation of the Heretic faction will be delayed.

] [Focus on Present] 2 Homeward Bound completion. Improvements to relationships with Cassandra, Shamir, Christophe, Anselma, Lonato, Ashe, Edelgard, Bernadetta, Dimitri. Factions: Reputation with Monarchists will reach Ally. Reputation with Perpetuals will reach Scoundrel. Reputation with AMC will reach Nemesis. Finally, the Heretic faction will be created.

] [Focus on Future] 1 Homeward Bound completion. Improvements to relationships with Ingrid, Dimitri, Felix, Sylvain, Glenn, Gilbert, Ashe, Anna, Edelgard, Bernadetta , Mercedes, Annette, Christophe, Lambert, Anselma. Factions: Reputation with Monarchists will reach Patron. Reputation with Perpetuals will reach Scoundrel. Finally, the creation of the Heretic faction will be delayed.

2) No Time Limit.Available until Chapter 15.

- Once in a lifetime opportunity, a character's canon rewrite. Be warned! I have many terrible things in store for multiple characters, plus you already know what happens in canon, so you are only getting this once. You can comment complex conditions under which this will activate as in saving it for later to keep certain characters alive longer, like if you'd keep a character alive even if they should've died. No retcons. This is not comparable to Sothis's time reversals, and most cannon character deaths will just be downgraded to mortal wounds etc.

] [Rewrite] Write in.

Character Sheet and Details

Lv [14] Mage; Alcides. Experience: [234/345]

HP: 34 (40%)

Mv: 4

Str: 14 (35%)

Lck: 9 (30%)

Mag: 23 (60%)

Def: 15 (35%)

Dex: 13 (40%)

Res: 24 (60%)

Spd: 18 (50%)

Cha: 10 (20%)

Class Growths: (Mage) HP: 5%, Str: 0%, Mag: 10%, Dex: 5%, Spd: 0%, Lck: 5%, Def: 0%, Res: 5%, Cha: 0%.

Critical Chance: 11.5% = [(Luck Dex) / 2]

Dodge: 9% = Luck Ability bonus

Attack Speed: 5.8 = Speed [Inventory weight (Strength / 5)]

Personal Skill: [Deserve to Die] - Foes within five spaces take 3 extra points of damage.

Ability 1: [Fiendish Blow] - Grants Magic 6 during periods of combat where the user is acting as the aggressor or initiates combat. [Mage Mastery required: 64/80]

Ability 2: [Logos, Lv 1 - Grants 1 range for spells per whole new Reason letter grade above F. (C = Rng: 3)

Ability 3: [Pathos, Lv 1 - Increases the user's max uses of spell by 0.1 per partial letter grade beyond F. (Note: I draw the line at keeping track of spell/weapon usage, it's cringe.)

Ability 4: [Ethos, Lv 2 - Grants the ability to use magic that is lower than or equal to this skill's placement * 2. (Faith: E = 4 Mt Currently)

Ability 5: [Monk Mastery: Prepare] - Spending an action will store any spell that can be triggered at any later date as an action with no reaction from foes.

Ability 6:

Other Abilities: [Blade Prowess, Lv 1] - Grants 5% to land a crit while using bladed weapons.

Learned Spells: [Blaze] - Mt: 3 Crit: 15 Rng: 0 Lv: F Can inflict Burns that reduce physical defense equal to might on critical hits. [Frostbite] - Mt: 4 Crit: 0 Rng: 0 Lv: F - Gains 30% critical hit chance against burning targets to trigger shock and skip the target's counter-attack, the target's burning status will be removed regardless if a critical hit is triggered.

Skill Levels: Reason (221; B), Knives/Daggers (74; C), Authority (44; D), Swordsmanship (30; D), Faith (29; E)

Proficiencies: Reason. Cavalry.

Deficiencies: Faith. Swordsmanship.

Inventory: Steel Knife (1 mt, 10% crit, 1 wt), 1 Blessed Tome (4 wt) [Soothe] - Mt: 0 Crit: 0 Rng: 0 Lv: F A spell designed to treat inflammation, and reverse damage dealt to an ally. The healing output delivered is equal to the caster's level of magic. 1 Flame Tome (4 wt) [Firenado] - Mt: 6 Crit: 45 Rng: 0 Lv: C Strikes every target in a line equal to spell range, and inflicts Burns that reduce physical defense equal to might on critical hits. (0) Vulnerary, traveling pack (5 wt), Knowledge gem (0 wt). Total wt = 14

Currency: 2049 GP