Skyclad (Fate's Anvil Book 1) Read online

  “The Hammer wields a widow’s grief; the prideful learn to kneel!” A man in a large building filled with shelves lined with boxes checks a slip of paper in his hand, then steps on a stool to reach one of them. With both hands full, he steps back down and falls, the floor no longer there behind him. Man and box both tumble into the snowy drifts several hundred paces away from the stone walls of a northern city, and the man stares in confusion and wonder.

  “The General marches into blood and death; His Wife follows with healing hands!” In a crowded house full of partially dressed people drinking from red cups and moving to music Rella can’t hear, a man and a woman stumble drunkenly through a door into an empty room. They collapse onto a bed, only to land in the middle of a farmer’s field, asleep in drunken stupor.

  “The Shadow grasps at every purse, yet she keeps nothing she takes!” A slim, feminine figure with a hood drops a fat envelope made of finer parchment than Rella has ever seen into a blue box outside a small brown building with signs printed in some unknown language. The woman walks across the street to where several of the strange, wheeled contraptions are sitting, and as she passes between two of them, she vanishes. She appeares on top of a building in a sprawling city, surrounded by rolling fields, with a massive stone spire standing hundreds of feet tall in the background.

  “The Dreamer sees what others miss, his mind a vault of knowledge!” A man scribbling strange symbols with chalk on a green panel turns around to tap small knobs on a little box with a glowing glass panel, then turns back to his scribbling. Between one step and the next, he falls through the floor, landing in the middle of a busy street paved with smooth stones and lit by bright lanterns. The man and the surrounding people seem equally surprised.

  “The Preacher finds his faith rekindled in a land where his God has no voice!” A man with close-cropped grey hair and several days’ worth of stubble on his cheeks holds a clear bottle to his lips as he stands before four freshly filled graves. The two in the middle are significantly smaller in proportion to the outer burial patches. He sways side to side as he stumbles down the path away from the graves and trips over his own feet. He lands on a hill overlooking a large body of water, and in the distance, Rella can see the very city that has been her home.

  “The Broken builds with steel and magic to replace what could not be mended!” A woman seated in a strange chair with two large wheels and two small ones pulls herself up by a metal rod suspended above her head. Her confident expression gives no hint she even acknowledges that her legs end well above the knees. After touching her chin to the bar over a dozen times, she drops herself back into a chair that is no longer there, and lands flat on her back next to the tumbled chair on the side of a sloping stone path. The stunned woman is quickly surrounded by very surprised dwarves unused to sudden visitors in their city within the mountain.

  “The Fool faces but a single fate, an example to all who tarry!” A man holds a cup of some sort of beverage in his hands while he talks down to other people sitting in cube-shaped partitions before him. With his seeming minions snickering behind his back, he smugly walks to another room and closes the door behind him. He strides to the desk and sits in the chair, only to land, chair and all, in the middle of a street bracketed by tall, narrow buildings with brass coils and rods suspending arcing cables above. As he turns and sees a massive machine of some sort crawling toward him on the street, he freezes in place. A gnome with glinting goggles frantically waves and screams at the man, but he simply sits there as the massive contraption keeps rolling forward, slower than a child could walk. He is still sitting there in shock when the massive metal wheel crushes him into the cobblestone street.

  “The Fortress stands to defend the forgotten and the lost. Unyielding! Even before the Gods!” A young man stands against an older one who strikes blow after blow upon him in wordless fury. He stumbles back only a step, keeping his arms up and staying in place between the older man and two smaller children. The children talk frantically into a flattened silvery box in their hands, crouched over a woman with golden hair and blank eyes above a crushed nose and jaw. Red and blue lights flash in the windows, and men in uniform burst through the door to tackle the older man. A woman with a kind face wraps the younger children in blankets and leads them and their older brother outside. As the man is dragged outside with his hands fastened behind his back with slim metal shackles, he starts kicking and screaming, and is thrown to the ground once again. While everyone’s attention is on him, the young man and his siblings vanish.

  “The Twins’ anguished gaze pierces the hearts of men; no malice may hide from their sight!” The young man steps away from the two as he looks upon their new surroundings. The pair drop their blankets back, revealing teary eyes and golden hair to match their late mother. The girls cling to their older brother as the three of them stare at the small village just in view through the sparsely wooded grove where they stand.

  “The Defiler’s deeds make demons weep, atrocity without measure!” A crowd of weeping people sit in a small room, looking through a pane of glass at a strange table with straps, cords, and hoses. In a hallway connected to the room with the table, two men carrying what are obviously weapons of some sort follow slightly behind another man holding a set of shackles. They approach a heavily reinforced metal door, and the man carrying the shackles slides open a narrow panel with one hand in order to peer inside. He barks a command to the plain-looking occupant of the cell, who stands there in a bright orange garment. The man turns around, and the guard shuts the small panel and pulls a large, heavy key off his belt. As he turns the lock and pulls the door open to an empty cell, all that can be heard is laughter.

  With the last window now past, all of them slip back into each other like puddles of liquid merging together until only one single pane remains. All Rella can see are brief flashes of violet and indigo, illuminating the outline of a giant tree wreathed in massive purple and white flames. At the center of the inferno a young woman burns, incandescent fire pouring out of her eyes and mouth, and from cracks in her skin. Waves of agony and ecstasy in equal measures radiate from the woman along with the intense heat, enough to batter Rella’s own sanity. The [Oracle] continues to speak, but now Rella feels her own body Speak along with her.

  “Clad in Storm and Fire unrelenting, the Ancient Tree is awakened! She walks the Wildlands to learn to fly; in her footsteps, thunder and ruin! Severed chains and shattered shackles, so this Age is Ended!

  Between one word and the next, the older woman let go of the younger woman’s hand and collapsed onto the balcony, withering into a lifeless husk. Now alone in body, but not in mind, the [Oracle] Spoke one last time.

  “At her fury, let the wicked tremble!”

  With that the vision finally ended, and the pressure left the air around the temple and the city. The incandescent storm continued to rage over some distant place far past the mountains across the sea. The new [Oracle] wasted no time as she swung over the balcony and lowered herself, one handhold after another, to a ledge several paces below. She shimmied along the narrow path, skirting the cliff until she reached another section with well-worn handholds in the stone, and climbed back up to the bluffs overlooking the temple. Part of her felt a moment of sorrow for leaving the other woman behind, until said woman gave her the mental version of a thump across her nose in admonishment.

  Evading the raiding slavers and their hired mercenaries was trivial to the [Oracle], especially with the chaotic disruption to divination now fading. She had no detailed picture of the possible futures yet, but the broad strokes were slowly sifting through the chaotic sea of possibilities unfolding in her mind. Already she knew one important task she wanted to accomplish. She had to find the young man her vision had named The Fortress. He was important, as were his sisters, even if she couldn’t see any details about why.

  Of more immediate importance was a safe and warm place to spend the night, as she knew there would be torrential rains within a handful of hour
s. Whatever had happened in the Wildlands so far to the east had spread a simply enormous amount of heat and magical energy into the sky, and colossal storms were already forming. The young [Oracle] was extremely glad for her newly gained precognitive skills, as she adjusted her course for an abandoned hunting shelter she could reach just ahead of the rains.

  And then you can teach me, she thought at the other woman in her head.

  The response was akin to a satisfied chuckle, but multiplied with various tones and voices in her mind. Indeed we can, child. Indeed we can.

  Chapter 5: Climb Down

  Morgan Mackenzie was startled awake by the intrusion of more insistent DING! notifications slamming into her head. She was alive, although she wasn’t quite sure how. Everything hurt, but in a distant and numbed manner. It was as if she were sitting in the back seat of her own mind. Sensations filtered through as if she were experiencing them second-hand, like it was all happening to some other Morgan. This Morgan knew she was in a state of shock, but it was the only way for her to even function at the moment. She knew this feeling of detachment couldn’t last, so she pulled herself together and directed her attention at the insistent messages intruding upon her mind.

  You have survived a [Mana Cascade]! For achieving this feat under the Aspect [Naked Survival], the Aspect has increased in rank to become [Naked Affinity]!

  She dimly remembered seeing that particular message right before she passed out, but dwelling on it caused her mind to instantly recoil from the memory. The next notifications were far more welcome, if still a mildly disturbing reminder of her continued lack of clothing.

  You have stayed an entire night alone in the Wildlands and have lived to see the dawn! For accomplishing this feat under the Aspect [Naked Affinity], the experience awarded for this achievement has been doubled!

  +1000 Experience gained.

  You have reached Level 7! Health and Status partially restored!

  For reaching this milestone while [Naked] and [Unequipped], rewarded points doubled.

  10 distributable Stat Points awarded.

  10 Skill Points awarded.

  You have reached Level 8! Health and Status partially restored!

  For reaching this milestone while [Naked] and [Unequipped], rewarded points doubled.

  10 distributable Stat Points awarded.

  10 Skill Points awarded.

  Due to extremely high levels of ambient Mana combined with other local conditions, a [Cleansing Scrubby] has gained sentience and Awakened as a new species! As the previous owner, [Cleansing Scrubby (Slime Species Variant, Originator)] has imprinted itself upon you. Would you like to claim it as your pet and give it a name?

  Reading the last message was enough to startle Morgan right out of her dazed frame of mind. Sputtering, she jumped to her feet while she twisted around looking for the scrubby loofah she’d totally forgotten about when she woke up. Said scrubby was currently several feet above the level of her head, somehow clinging to the side of one of the vertical branches that led up into the tree’s canopy. And it was moving.

  “What in the hell?” Morgan blurted. The pale purple lace puffball was slowly churning itself back and forth as it crept along the tree trunk, eating into the soot and seared churple jelly splattered all over the place. The path left behind by the scrubby was perfectly clean tree bark. As it twisted itself back and forth like a washing machine cycle, it seemed to exude a soap-like foam and draw it back in as it got dirty with soot and churple juice. Seeing the clean path it left in its wake, Morgan looked down at herself and realized how clean she was. It cleaned me in my sleep!? Even her hair was clean and shiny, with a healthy, silken sheen. Looking back up at the loofah, she thought I don’t know if I should be happy about that, or totally disturbed…

  As if it could sense her attention, the scrubby suddenly dropped itself down from the tree-trunk and slowly rolled over to rest just in front of her feet. She started backward a half-step and then made up her mind. “Screw it,” she said as she picked up the plucky little creature. “I shall call you Lulu the Loofah!” As if naming the thing out loud was some sort of signal or trigger, another notification popped into Morgan’s mind, along with Lulu’s own status information.

  You have claimed Lulu the [Cleansing Scrubby] as your bonded pet! The pet bond allows you to view the status information of any of your pets. Bonded pets will always find their way back to you if separated!

  Pets level up on their own over time, in addition to gaining a percentage of experience you earn on your adventures together!

  Status Information for: Lulu

  Species: Cleansing Scrubby. Distantly related to Slimes and Oozes. Originator of its species.

  Level: 1

  Stat Details not viewable except by owners specialized in Pet-based or Tamer type Classes

  Skills

  [Cleansing Scrub]

  [Foaming Wash]

  [Absorb Grime]

  [Exfoliate]

  [Moisturize]

  [Rejuvenating Rinse]

  “Originator, huh? So you’re the first of your kind?” Morgan said to the little scrubby. It gave no indication that it understood what she said. The lace ball simply sat contentedly in her hands. Before its vivification, the scrubby had simply been a balled-up wad of puffy synthetic lace with a string knotted around its center. It wriggled in protest in her hands as she squished it in different directions. The once ivory-colored lace fronds were still pale on the outside, but had deepened to a violet that was closer to the color given off by Morgan’s [Mana Pulse] spell the previous night. Where the center knot of string used to be was now a spherical crystal structure vaguely resembling a sieve, with the fibers of the lace weaving in and out of the openings. The core glittered in dim shades of purple. Lulu the Loofah suddenly had enough of being handled so roughly, and with a grace Morgan wasn’t expecting, it hopped out of her hands up to her shoulder and sat there. She gave it a pat, and it responded with a faint, burbling purr.

  “Absolutely lethal levels of cute!” She giggled at her new sidekick. It felt good to have something she could still laugh about in her present circumstances. As Morgan’s thoughts returned to the present, she sighed and mentally pulled up her own status information. There was a lot she hadn’t been able to spare any attention to while she was simply trying to survive the previous night.

  Status Information for: Morgan Mackenzie

  Level - 8

  Primary Class: [Locked]

  Secondary Class: [Locked]

  Health - 153/170

  Stamina - 202/224

  Mana - 112/112

  STR - 11

  AGI - 11

  CON - 15

  VIT - 28

  INT - 14

  Stat points available to distribute: 20

  Current Skills:

  [Naked Instinct]

  [Naked Recovery (Lvl 7)]

  [Naked Camouflage]

  [Naked Resilience]

  -[Pain Resistance (Lvl 9)]

  -[Heat Resistance (Lvl 7)]

  -[Mana Resistance (Lvl 10/Mastered)]

  [Naked Magic]

  -[Mana Pulse (Lvl 10/Mastered)]

  -[Spell Channeling (Lvl 4)]

  -[Mana Affinity (Lvl 6)]

  Skill Points available: 20

  Titles, Mantles, and Aspects

  [Worldwalker (Title)] - You have travelled through the void between the many worlds! Every world is different, each with its own gifts and dangers. To help you survive strange new places, you gain a slight boost to health and an increased ability to learn new things! (+50 to Health, +50% increased gains to Skill Experience)

  [Blessed of the Guardian Tree (Title)] - Through an offering of the blood of your enemies, you have reawakened the ancient tree! You need never fear its hungry roots! Future offerings or actions that benefit the tree may enhance this Title!

  [Naked Affinity (Aspect)] - Experience gained and points rewarded are doubled while you are [Naked] and [Unequipped]. Base recovery rate
of all resource pools are increased. [Naked] variants of skills and abilities enhanced. Rate of skill and ability improvement greatly enhanced. While items or clothing are equipped, this Aspect’s effects are disabled, and [Naked] skills and abilities are locked.

  “So…” Morgan read through the new information twice more to make sure she understood what it meant. “I don’t know how much better these naked skills are compared to other ones.”

  She stood there a moment to consider the new information. She simply hadn’t been able to take the time to think about it during the gauntlet that was the previous night. “So, I’ve got some magic, but only so long as I don’t have clothes on,” she quipped to her purring shoulder passenger. “At least I think. I don’t have anything like clothes to even try to test it with right now. At least this place is warm…”

  Morgan knew she was focusing on everything she could to delay the inevitable. She knew something was wrong with her body, but she was afraid to look with the [Naked Recovery] skill. The memory of burning was simply too vivid. She could tell without delving too deeply that she was in no immediate danger from it, but trying to look closer sent her mind reeling back into the flames. Her health and Stamina had ticked back up to full just in the time since she’d been awake. Her Mana had already been full when she awoke. Understandable, as far as Morgan could understand anything about this world. She hadn’t been able to sense her Mana for very long before she ate the fruit, but to her mind, the magic felt different than it did before. More volatile, as if it were already straining to be used, or released.

  “Well,” she said to the scrubby on her shoulder, “naked or not, I need to get out of this tree and find water.”

  Morgan took a few minutes to—very carefully—spend her latest points on her stats. She had no intention of repeating the rollercoaster of sudden changes to her body from the previous day.