Chapter 1: Awakening

Pain.

 That's the last thing I remember. I was stopped at a gas station in an admittedly shady part of, where was I? I'm having a hard time remembering what I was doing. I think I was trying to go somewhere, but I'm having a hard time remembering.

 So, is this the afterlife? Honestly, I don't know, it's rather dark, much darker than I was expecting. So, were the Atheists right then? That's a bummer. An afterlife would have been much preferable to whatever this is. Just bland darkness. Oh well I guess this is the way it is now.

 I don't know how long I was here; time seems to have lost its meaning. It could have been thirty seconds, could have been millennia. But after a while I saw a bright light.

 "Greetings child, I am Gabriel, a servant of the One most High. He has plans for you, though your life will not be easy. May your faith be strong, and the Lord will be your ally."

 Was that an Archangel? So, the Christians got it right, cool. Even more cool it seems I am to be given a second chance. Looks like I can't waste this one, not like the last one. Alright send me away and let this go.

 I woke up in a dark room almost the instant he said that. At first I was rather confused, as I could see as if it was a well lit room. But something inside me told me that the room was dark.

 Well mostly dark. There were torches placed about the place to give the room enough light to see, but to maintain an air of mystery about the place.

 The body I find myself in is strange, I cannot really control my actions except for random flailing about. Fortunately, I can still see. Unfortunately, it seems as if I will be dying soon, just after I was given a second chance at life. There was a man in a dark robe standing over me with a bleeding knife that looks like it was just used to kill someone, as it was still dripping fresh blood.

 The man began yelling something in a language I didn't understand. Though I think I'm safe, as the tone was more excited than hostile to me. The problem is the whole lack of understanding what is being said. After his exclamation the room became noisy. It seems as if there are more people in the room than just the lunatic with a knife.

 At least I'm not in danger, at least I don't think I am? The man with the knife walked up to me still holding the bleeding knife, which freaked me out quite a bit. At the sight of that I started crying.

 Wait, why am I crying? I don't know why but it's so hard to understand what is going on right now. As I'm crying, I realized something. My mind is slowly regressing to that of a child. Which caused me to cry even harder. This time instead of fear It was panic, panic that I would lose myself. 

 As I'm crying, I lose track of my surroundings. When I saw his face again. Gabriel. "worry not child, the Lord has plans for you, have peace that his plan will come to fruition." After those words from Gabriel I slowly begin to gain control of myself, though the regression of my mind is still happening there is less panic. I realized that I would be able to live a new life, new experiences and become a new person. This time around, I would dedicate myself to the Lord, since he was so gracious to grant me a second chance. Eventually now that I have a plan and a mission, I realize I don't remember anything about my former life, and it becomes more and more hazy. Eventually I forget even that. My language knowledge is fading away.

 I look up and see a strange man with a metal face.

 I started crying all over again.

 Three hundred years. That is how long I've been living in this world, ever since I woke up from my medical stasis placed upon me by my brother. Then I woke up in a cavern surrounded by cultists.

 The fight should have been difficult, as I was just aroused from my deep sleep of who knows how many years, and there were around forty of them. Rather than a difficult fight I found that it was like beating up infants, not even a challenge. Either they were not very well trained, or humanity's curse has affected them worse than I thought. With that in mind I figured it had been at least a couple eons since I was put in stasis and the curse had progressed further weakening the race.

 As I lived my life, I found that I was in a Mana world with the affiliated races you typically find. Yet another reason why those cultists were so weak, they were using an imperfect system. Not entirely their fault but it is what it is.

 My adventures, while perhaps to the people of this world would be the stuff of legends and heroes, felt more like somebody cleaning up garbage in the kitchen to me. Something that needed to be done, but not particularly difficult.

 I did help topple a corrupt nation, reinstate a merchant council, the most recent of my adventures. Though I'm not sure if I'm pleased with the method of ruling it's not my place.

 Before that I had gone to the elves, a mana fused branch off from the human race, with much longer lives and a higher mana affinity than the modern-day humans. After causing the crown prince to become disowned for his discriminatory ideas and ousting the king and queen, who now live in retirement in my cabin, long story, and the second prince ascending to the crown of Carisline.

 The cabin I was living in was just on the border of the Merchant city of Redemption, the name they chose after my intervention, and the Forests of Carisline. It also happened to be within a week's walk from the cavern from which I woke up. Which I have had to cleanse twice now from cultists. There is something in that cave system that attracts those who practice dark magic, so I go to clean it out.

 Today is the third time I have gone to check up on the cave system, and lo and behold, there are cultists. This time though, instead of gathering around the broken remains of my stasis chamber, never did find out why the statis chamber when there is a much better location nearby; not that I would tell them of course, they were gathered excitedly around a table, with four corpses scatted around the base with their hearts ritually removed, and a small crying child on the table. Bloody cultists.

 Seeing as these were the type to sacrifice another person for their own gain, I did not need to speak a word of this to them about my arrival and cast a single Magik spell.

 "Tha'ed" all it took was a word of truth and the entire group of cultists fell to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. After this dirty work was done, I walked up to the stone table they were around, I refuse to call it an altar, and lo, I saw a young child, completely featureless. I've seen this race before, a group of shapeshifters called Morpheo (Mor Fe Oh) by the people of this world. Other worlds have called them doppelgangers. Unfortunately for this race, the people of this world have collectively declared them demons, a laughable classification, applied because of a lack of understanding of true demons. Today was a good way to explain why the people of this world called them demons though, if this is one of the ways for the race to propagate, outside of union of course, I can see why they would be called demons. Which is unfortunate for them and explains why they go into hiding.

 Fortunately for the young one, I had a scarf in my bag, so I was able to wrap up the child. Honestly, I don't know if I'm prepared to raise a child, but I also cannot leave an innocent such as this to the ravages of the other races.

 As I approached the child, who had stopped crying and was sleeping, they woke up again and began crying, this time a cry of pain, unlike when I had arrived, which was panic and confusion.

 Ah yes, I forgot about that. Morpheo's will try to mana link to a parent to deceive them into believing they are their own young, at least if one of their parents is not a Morpheo, and taking on all of the characteristics of the parent species. So, the pain is probably from my mana immunity and the inability to properly bond. After about twenty minutes, while I was using Truth to soothe the pain, not remove mind you, pain is a wonderful survival tool after all, the child stopped crying and went back to sleep.

 Taking the child I went to the hidden room in the back, luckily enough the cultist still hadn't found it. 

 This room, to the people of this world, would be a room of unbridled power, A ley-line stone. Particularly one of darker mana so favored by the cultists. The one I have come and checkup and noticed that the twisting roots that I have become accustomed to seeing wrapped around the large black crystal, had become much larger. And, unlike the last time I had come here, they were very clearly draining the mana from the stone.

 As much as I dislike remnants of the Enemies power, it has become necessary to keep order in these fallen worlds, until the day of promise at least. As a result, I can't destroy the ley-line, but I can make the parasite lose its food, and maybe weaken the dark magics of the world while I'm at it.

 Gathering my thoughts and getting a clear picture of what it was that I wanted to occur, a tight binding on the stone, allowing nothing to enter and affect it, but allowing for a slow trickle of mana to leave, and spoke a Magik word of truth. "Niat'noc."

 Instantly, a barrier only able to be broken by a Mage of similar or more power than I snapped into place, and the parasitical vines were all severed and began spewing dark mana everywhere.

 A scream deep and powerful reverberated through the chamber, and unfortunately, probably also the world, because now that I can get a proper look, the things that I saw attached to the stone are those of the Mana Parasite, World eating entities that consume every drop of the mana in a world and leave it dry. Fortunately for this world, this one is ancient, perhaps even from the first few generations. Meaning it will not kill the world, just keep it in a state of mana scarcity.

 After the scream, I could hear a thrumming noise, a telltale sign of a mana avatar being formed, coming from behind me. Turning around I beheld the man who was making the avatar behind me.

 He was honestly rather plain looking, clearly not used to forming human shaped avatars, with no notable features whatsoever. The only obvious thing to me was the seething fury written all over his face.

 "YOU DARE!" the parasite screamed, spittle flying from his mouth.

 I was about to answer when the child, who had been asleep, woke up in screaming pain yet again. I felt horrible for the child, but knowing what was happening I couldn't stop it, not without endangering the child.

 By muttering a Truth so that I could see Mana, I saw a tendril reaching from the child to the aura of the parasite. This was a worrisome development, because young parasites are insatiable and not capable of moderating their appetites. 

 While I was worrying about this, the child only succeeded in one third of the bonding process before it abruptly stopped, likely due to either incompatibility or the raw power radiating off the avatar.

 Oh, maybe it was because it is only an avatar and not its real body that only one third of the bond was possible. The new worry is now the child will die if there is not a species that can bond with it. I would but my mana immunities after all these long eons have become rather permanent and a temporary reduction would take more time than the child has.

 "Yal'ed" This word of Truth would give me enough time to get to the cottage and to Luthiel and Caedras to save the child's life.

 While all this was being explained, perhaps maybe a quarter of a second actually passed and the avatar was still finishing his threat.

 "Yes, I dare." Was the only thing I said to the avatar before drawing my sword Nig'Iro. The avatar must have been secure in his supposed immunity to damage because he began laughing at me. That is until his head slid to the floor, the avatar's body dispersing a second later.

 "Fools will be fools no matter what. Now let's get you home little one." Usually, the trip takes a week of walking, but now the clock was ticking, and I did not have that kind of time. So, in order to make haste I used another Truth "Ev'om" Arriving in my front lawn instantaneously, where I found Luthiel tending to her garden.

 "Luthiel, get over here quickly!" Noticing my urgency she put her spade down, her grey hair, a sign of her twelve hundred years is this world, dragged parallel to the ground she moved so quickly.

 When she got to me, I dropped the truth shielding the child and the mana bond immediately latched onto Luthiel's aura and the young Morpheo began to change. While she changed, I'm not sure if it is because the bond with Luthiel or because it was always a female, she looked much like Luthiel in her younger years, almost perfectly so. So, this is what the Morpheo bond looks like huh?

 "Thank you Lu, that was closer than I would like to admit."

 "Where did you pick her up?" The confusion on Lu's face was honestly quite entertaining, now the crisis was over, I gave a deep chuckle. All these long years and I could still surprise the aged elf.

 "My home of awakening, she was on a table, brought to this world by some of the dark worshipers. Fortunately for her, she now has proper parents. Lord willing, she will be a wonderful young elf woman. Girl, I name you Michelle, after my sibling who was lost to chaos. May you bring glory and redemption to his name."

 "And we will name her Mai'elle, she needs a proper elf name if she's to be raised as one of us, don't you think" Caedras walked out of his forge on the side of the cottage his short steel grey hair shining from the long hours in his forge. "Raising a young girl without all of the trappings of court will be a marvelous new experience."

 Laughing, I could help but agree. "Indeed, though be warned she's only two thirds elf, the other third consumes mana like food. Raising her and training her will be an interesting challenge for sure. Though she will be a very strong mage, that's for sure."

 "And a phenomenal swords woman, especially if you train her. Right Kristoff?" Luthiel was almost expectant with that question.

 "Honestly, I would rather not, but its definitely going to be necessary."

 "Welcome to Walker Cabin Michelle.'

 "Welcome to Carisline Cabin Mai'elle."

 The events of this day were felt across the world.

 First the scream. All who had an attunement to mana on par or greater than journeyman, whether they be clerics or mages; or even the sorcerers of the world, felt rather than heard, the deep scream of pain reverberate across the flow of mana. Many faltered in what they were doing, and some even lost their lives as the unexpected event interrupted their focus, and either caused a miscast, or the interruption caused a more physical death with enemy forces.

 All the mages from the ranks of Master up to Archwizard, felt the weakening of dark mana. Those who followed the way of light rejoiced, those who reveled in dark deeds despaired, and those who resided in the middle grumbled as now their research projects would be affected.

 All the churches and other religious organizations felt much the same, from bishop and bishop equivalents up, but rather attributing it to dark mana, they likened it the weakening of the dark gods of the world. The self-proclaimed light, and even neutral religions, rejoiced now that the long war would swing in their favor. Those who followed the dark despaired, now forced even more into hiding to save their own lives.

 A drastic new age was upon the world. Gods would fall, and others would rise.