BOOK 9: CHAPTER 80: WARNINGS

Elijah awoke with a start, already summoning his healing spells. As it turned out, it was unnecessary because he felt perfectly fine. Better, actually. He’d been entirely rejuvenated, and it didn’t take him long to realize why.

Hastily, he cut off Grove Conduit, and the dense atmosphere of vitality dissipated soon after. That was when he allowed himself to take in his surroundings. All around him were dogs, though a quick inspection of the sleeping animals showed that they were completely healed. Their recovery almost cheapened the struggle they’d collectively undergone. Or maybe Elijah had just grown so accustomed to being the solution to every problem, and he was having trouble wrapping his mind around that not being the case.

“What happened?” he asked, glancing at Oscar, who sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. “How long was I out?”

The man opened his eyes, saying, “A little more than a day. I think.”

“But the dogs…how are they…”

He didn’t have the heart to give voice to what he’d expected to find. He’d felt them before he’d passed out, and they’d endured more broken bones than he could count. A few of the less durable members of the pack had even ruptured organs. There was no way that the vitality from Grove Conduit had enabled that kind of healing. The vitality that came from the grove was powerful enough to give a significant buff to the regeneration attribute, but it wasn’t an out-and-out heal.

“I got a new ability,” Oscar said. “Level one-seventy.”

Elijah let out a low whistle and saw that he’d gained a couple of levels as well. That didn’t make sense either, considering that he hadn’t actually killed anything. The mountain titan had killed itself.

But he wouldn’t argue with reaching one-ninety-two.

Once Elijah was satisfied that the dogs were okay, he turned his attention to the fight itself. If it was even right to call it that. For the first time, ever, his attacks had been entirely insufficient. They had done no damage that he could discern, and as a result, he’d felt completely helpless.

He didn’t like that one little bit.

What’s more, he questioned how anyone else could have survived such an ordeal. In fact, he couldn’t help but wonder how anyone could have made it through any of the trials. As far as Elijah knew, being able to survive swimming through lava was a rare trait. Perhaps some of the fire giants could manage it well enough because, much like Escobar, they were attuned to the element.

But most others would assuredly die.

The same was true of the Gauntlet of the Sky Lords or the Drowning Depths. Both situations would have been deadly to anyone else around his level. Perhaps a demi-god could have endured, but even then, the most recent trial would have assuredly destroyed them.

So, what was he missing?

When he asked that question aloud, Oscar gave him some insight that he’d never even considered.

“There was an entire city we left unexplored,” the other man said. “Surely, there are ways to mitigate elemental damage. Equipment and the like. We just never considered searching for it.”

Elijah frowned.

Was that really the case? Was the answer so simple? He’d considered something similar before, but he had been so wrapped up in taking the most straightforward path that he’d never given it any credence. It made too much sense to dismiss it now, though.

Indeed, he probably could have made the Chimeric Forge much easier to navigate as well. Maybe there was a safer path that he’d never even thought to look for.

Obviously, Primal Realms were much more complicated than he’d ever expected.

“What about the giants?” he asked. “They’ve been trying to navigate these trials for a long time, right? That’s the official story. So, if there are items that might allow them to endure the elements, why don’t they use them?”

Escobar barked, and Oscar’s brow furrowed.

He answered, “They hate one another.”

“What?”

“The giants. They would rather die than work together. If it wasn’t for the peace of Stillstone, they would have long since killed one another,” Oscar answered. “At least that was the impression Escobar got. Admittedly, he did not stray from the Cinderpeak Clan’s compound, so his impressions are not fact.” Escobar let out a warning growl. Oscar waved his hand at the dog, cutting him off. “It’s true. Being angry about it won’t change anything.”

“I see,” Elijah said. It all fit together a little too easily for his taste, and in retrospect, he should have seen it. The clear segregation of the city had been the first hint, but the giants’ demeanor should have hammered it home. They were arrogant to a fault, and all of his encounters with them outside of Stillstone had carried an undertcurrent of aggression.

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It made sense.

“How do you feel?” Oscar asked.

Elijah shrugged. “Better than I should. Nerthus is going to be extremely angry with me, though,” he admitted. “Keeping the Grove Conduit open for that long probably threw the balance off.” He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh. “He’ll get over it, though. Probably.”

“What is it like?” was Oscar’s next question.

“What? The grove? Well, it’s on an island. Did you ever visit the Pacific Northwest?”

Oscar shook his head.

“Well, it’s basically a rainforest. You know, lots of rain. Lots of vegetation. It’s a jungle, though not like what you’d see in, say, the Amazon. It’s temperate, so the plants are different. Not as many reptiles, I guess. But the grove sits in the middle of my island. What you felt with Grove Conduit? That’s kind of what it feels like there, only the ethera is a lot denser. And we have all sorts of animals,” Elijah said.

Then, he described the wildlife, including the rabbits, oversized squirrels, crabs, and even the guardians.

“It sounds like paradise,” Oscar remarked.

Elijah smiled. “It is. And wait until you see the hot tub. Well, it’s actually an artificial hot spring powered by a priceless natural treasure. But same difference. Or the Frozen Glade. And you’ll get along with Nerthus for sure.”

“I…I would like to visit this grove.”

Elijah blinked in surprise. He’d hoped to convince Oscar to come to the grove, but to date, the man hadn’t given any indication that he’d come. “Really? That’s awesome. Now, we just have to survive the rest of this Primal Realm.”

“That is true.”

With that, Elijah took stock of his condition, then looked at his status. There was nothing new there, save for a few extra attributes from his increased level. However, he couldn’t deny that his anticipation had reached an all-time high. At two hundred, he’d gain a new spell, and he’d draw closer to the next major milestone. At two-twenty-five, he would get another specialization, and considering the benefits he’d gained from the last one, he expected it to be a game-changer.

But that was a long way away. After what he’d been through in the Chimeric Forge and completing the bulk of the Legacy of Titans Primal Realms, Elijah had only gotten forty-six levels. So, it would take quite a lot of experience to push him forward another thirty-three levels.

Still, it was exciting.

Daunting too. But mostly exciting.

By the time Elijah felt had completed his inspection, Oscar had roused the dogs. Fortunately, everyone had gotten another glyph, which completed the Mark of Elements. He could feel the ethera coursing through it, but what’s more, it completely nullified the effect of the ambient earth-attuned ethera.

And that held true when they left the platform atop the mountain and headed down the Unyielding Path. It was still uncomfortable at the very top, but it certainly wasn’t debilitating. What’s more, they weren’t forced to roll huge boulders up a spiraling incline, so that made things much easier.

So, it wasn’t long before they reached the bottom.

When they did, they found a group of earth giants waiting.

“Declare your allegiance, outsiders,” commanded the leader, his voice oddly respectful. There was still arrogance there, but it carried with it a note of respect.

“I have no allegiance but to my pack,” Oscar announced, taking the lead for once. He said it was so much conviction that Elijah suspected that the man had said the same more than once. “Let us through, or we will be forced to move you.”

A second later, Elijah added, “What he said. You won’t enjoy being moved.”

The other giants – there were ten of them, all radiating enough power that killing them would take at least a few minutes – looked ready to test that. However, the leader clearly possessed some ability to assess a threat. After only a moment, he said, “Very well. Be aware that the peace of Stillstone has broken. Armies gather at the edge of the Elemental Maelstrom, and champions scramble to complete the trials. War is on the horizon. The giants gather. The peace holds, but it is tentative and unenforced. Battle is inevitable. Do not assume that your power will protect you.

“It will not,” he ended. “Now go. My people wish to embark upon the Unyielding Path and pay homage to our most honored ancestor.”

“Ancestor?” asked Elijah.

“The revered titans made us in their image. We are their progeny. We wish to ascend to live among them,” he explained. “That is the goal of all giants, and one the Earthspeaker Clan will attain before any others. So it has been foreseen. So it shall be.”

“Have you climbed the Unyielding Path?” Elijah asked.

“Of course. All of my kin have done so.”

“And the others?”

“Some still attempt it, but even the most powerful among us have failed. We await the fulfillment of the prophecy. The sundering of the Peace of Stillstone is the first sign that it is nigh.”

“What does the prophecy say?” Elijah asked.

The giant shook his huge head. “By walking the Unyielding Path, you have earned our respect. But you are not one of us. We cannot share our secrets,” he said. Then, after glancing at his fellows, all of whom looked on the verge of battle. “Your further presence will encourage hostility. I ask that you leave us to our holy quest.”

Elijah was tempted to meet the giants’ clear aggression with an attack. His instincts screamed at him to do just that. However, the leader had been polite, if not overtly cordial. Still, Elijah considered how much experience he could get from going on a rampage.

“Out of curiosity, how many giants were in Stillstone?” he asked.

The earth giant cocked his head to the side in confusion. Then, he seemed to understand exactly why Elijah would ask such a question. “Do not underestimate us, stranger. We do not die easily.”

“I know exactly how easily you die. And I suggest you take your own mortality into account before you issue warnings,” Elijah said. Then, he added, “It wasn’t that long ago that a man tried to make an example of me.”

“How did that end?”

“I killed a city and threw the corpses on his doorstep,” Elijah stated without even a hint of emotion.

The message was clear, and the giant understood it well enough. He took a step back and said, “You are no human.”

“No. I’m not,” Elijah said, gripping his scythe. He felt ethera swirling in his eyes, an indication that they were glowing. “Be careful who you try to order around, giant. Others of my kind may not be so…understanding.” He blinked, forcibly stilling the ethera within. “But I have no quarrel with you.

“Yet,” he added after a short pause.

Then, without further discussion, Elijah turned and strode away from the Unyielding Path and into the wilderness. The dogs followed, with Oscar taking up the rear. Meanwhile, Elijah could only wonder if the giants’ so-called prophecy had something to do with their completion of the trials.

Probably.

But he didn’t know what to think about that. So, he just continued on, letting Oscar and the dogs catch up as they left the Unyielding Path behind. Their next step was to head into the Elemental Maelstrom to finish the Primal Realm, but his conversation with the giant had awakened a little curiosity within him.