Under the Light of the World at War: Early Chapter 64

It was finally quiet. Hours of work, taking care of things, learning from Meniel's guidance. I was there the entire time, and every attempt to flee was countered by cold hard facts. 

“A healer needs to know this. What will you do if you have a pregnant woman giving birth and no one to help?”

So I’d stuck it out. An adventurer had to know how to do this… Or something. Probably.

I was probably lying to myself, and Meniel was probably messing with me, but I’d done it.

The first hands the baby had felt had been mine, and I’d cradled the little squirming pile of humanity in my arms as we checked him over.

Him.

A little brother. 

“Th-thas… Thas’Melorn.” Mama had named him as she brought him up to suckle, and I’d had to roll my eyes.

“Really Mama… Forest Strike?”“It’ll suit him.” Mama said confidently, and I just rolled my eyes even harder.

My poor little brother. He’ll be a ranger, or else it seems.

Either way. It was over. I was resting, having washed up and just sitting under the moon. 

I had a little brother. 

The Ban’dinoriel was still overhead. I hated the idea of him growing up under this stupid shield. I hated being stuck here, and I hated the Trolls most of all.

They’d never give up, we had to fight them back and only then would they stop.

For now. The Amani wouldn’t just disappear. They’d wait, gather power, and cause problems over and over. The Orcs, and then anytime they felt like they had strength they’d try something or another. 

And yet, I couldn’t keep focused on that because I had a little brother!

Things… Things were going to change.

—---

Most of us probably didn’t sleep very well that night. For one we’d stayed up well into the night supporting Mama, and then my little brother was a fussy boy. 

He screamed through the night multiple times. I was really considering a silencing spell, but I toughed it out. 

Breakfast came too soon, and I groaned as I rolled out of bed, after freshening up I headed up to the breakfast room that we all ate in, and I stilled as I saw Mama inside, Thas’Melorn cradled in her arms as she ate.

“You’re up?”“Hmm? Oh this was nothing Dorah. I feel fine. A long ranging is worse than what this little guy can do.” Mama replied simply, and I just…

Yeah Mama was just kinda built different huh?

I walked over, noticing Papa wasn’t here yet, so I took the seat next to her.

Thas was grumpily wiggling but he wasn’t crying thankfully. 

“It’s good to have another life in the family.” El’Tela said as I settled and grabbed some food. “Perhaps he’ll have his sister's talents, and we’ll have another Magister?”“He’s going to be a Ranger.” Mama said flatly, and El’Tela as usual just ignored other peoples opinions not even listening to Mama.

I had a feeling there would be a lot of that going around. People asking what he was going to be and Mama just saying Ranger.

Still…

I reached over and ran a finger over his little hands…

He was so small…

It lit something inside me.

He needed to be protected.

“Thank you Dorah, I know it was uncomfortable for you.”“Hmm? Oh last night? No, I'm completely repressing what happened so I don’t think about it. It’s fine.” I said. Those memories were firmly locked into a corner that would only be opened when I needed to help with a birth. Otherwise I was just going to deny deny deny!

“That easily, huh?”“Can’t hear you.” I said at Mama’s teasing and just hummed something to keep the memories from surfacing.

Soon Papa arrived looking exhausted, way more than Mama. I gave him the seat and he didn’t even bother reaching for other food, just finishing off what was on my plate as he ate slowly…

Jeeze Papa. Was it Mama, or you that gave birth last night?

Either way I had eaten and it was time to get ready for the day. 

I needed…

I needed to get stronger. 

“I’m going for training.” I said standing up and striding out towards the roof. I was feeling antsy at how weak I was once again.

Heading up I settled in and took a breath.

Mental Strength increased the amount of Mana I had access too, and that would help me push more spells out faster. So that was the goal for today. I began meditating gathering up the sparks of light. 

They were everywhere inside me today. I guess I was feeling very conviction-y. I kept that thought and pushed it further as I grabbed sparks, fed them my Mana and then let the energy flow into my…

Mind? Brain? Soul?

Whatever. It worked.

[Mental Strength Lv 4 17/40]

Another point upwards. I grabbed a Mana gem from the pile and regained most of my energy and readied myself to do it again.

“I have to get stronger.”

“That’s a good desire.” El’Tela called out, surprising me as she walked slowly over. “Grandma?”

“You left quickly. I was wondering if there was something I needed to do.”

“Nooo? I just… I want to protect him, and…” I looked up into the sky. “As long as this goes on he’ll only ever know a tiny part of the world. I need to get stronger, so I can help break the siege.”

“Hmph. It seems I was mistaken. You’re still just as focused as ever. Good. Much will change, but that shouldn’t. Don’t allow the birth to impact your future.”“Well… Yeah? Why would I?”She huffed waving me off. “It’s nothing it seems. I should have known you were resilient enough not to be bothered. You are working with the Light?”“Increasing my Mental Strength. I need more Mana… I need to be stronger.”“Indeed. You will find it. Don’t doubt that child. Now walk me through what you’re doing.” She demanded and with a shrug I talked to her about just that. It was… Nice to chat with El’Tela about my training even if she didn’t add much to it. Just listening.

—--

Things settled in over a few days even if quiet was a thing of the past. I did end up starting to use Silencing Spells over my bed just so I could sleep through the night, cause Thas’Melorn was not happy if anyone in the house was sleeping.

It was… Weird to see how things changed. Papa was working less, which was okay, Nata’liore had crowed to the heavens about how she was covering Papa’s work.

But… It also meant Mama and Papa were much busier than I was used to.

I get what El’Tela was talking about before. Coming home, not to Papa’s face greeting me in the workshop, but having to hunt him down and most of the time finding him passed out over some piece of furniture was a bit of a bummer. But exhausted Papa was cute too.

It’s not like he loved me less with how little I saw of him.

Mama was even more harried. Although she seemed to be in her element. Taking care of Thas’Melorn was just… What she was built for. Heck I was pretty sure she was already planning on heading back to the Ranger Station just to do something else, despite the lack of sleep and amount of time spent taking care of a baby.

Mama was just built different, I guess.

Anyways, it didn’t change anything about my training schedule. If I wasn’t actively working my Mana to higher amounts, trying to push Mental Strength upwards, I was working physically, training in armor with Grunkles Cadets, or all the dozen of other training paths I’d started up.

But as I was preparing a meal, another test pizza came out rather well actually. I heard the shouting.

Leaving the upstairs dining area where I was working I met Nata’liore, as she was racing up, the elven woman looking more frantic than I’d ever seen her.

“Alah’Dorah! We need you downstairs!” She shouted, her voice practically cracking and so I raced past. The problem was obvious.

Sha’Narin was sprawled in the backroom, Tira’nore half sitting beside him wiping a cloth across his face.

His very beat up face. His uniform, the one for the shop, was splattered with his own blood. Someone had beat the absolute crap out of him.

I didn’t hesitate and rushed over, calling up light into my hands and dropping the strongest Holy Light I could over him.

The shift was dramatic, bruising and cuts glowing for a moment before vanishing leaving his pale, and yet still bloody skin behind, but he breathed out then winced. The pain would still be there, if much reduced without actual wounds.

I gave him a moment, and dropped Inner Fire on him as well, watching as the light spread out from his chest invigorated him and he blinked looking around as if seeing the room for the first time.

Which he might be. He’d probably had a concussion. I settled in and carefully checked him over again, noticing he winced all over at my gentle prodding. The bruises would be healed, but the pain would remain for a time.

“You’re alright now Sha’Narin. Lady Dorah has healed you. It’s okay.” Tira’Nore said, trying to be gentle as she sort of dabbed at the blood on his lip.

“Sorry… Sorry. They took the drinks.” He mumbled, and I frowned, annoyed that he would think that was important.

“That doesn’t matter Sha’Narin. The drinks are just drinks. You are more important. What happened?” I asked firmly, and both Tira’Nore and Sha’Narin looked relieved. 

Come on you two, you should know by now what’s actually important or not.

“Are you okay to tell us what happened?”“It was… The Thistle sellers. A few of their men ambushed me when I tried to set up. They… They wanted to send a message. They didn’t kill me because they wanted me to talk… They would have killed me.”I felt my fists clench, Sha’Narin was terrified, he was just a kid… Okay yes he was older than me, but he wasn’t a fighter. 

Just a shop boy. All this because I made soda? 

“The same shop on the main street? Those guys?”“I think so… They… I told them what Tira’Nore said to tell them. Then they dragged me into an alley.”

“I’m so sorry Sha’Narin. I, I couldn’t imagine they’d escalate like this! We need to call the guards and-”“More than just that.” A voice I didn’t expect. El’Tela had come down the stairs. On one of her floating chairs and floated over. “Attacking a member of the Arkhana’Shola? These thugs have truly overstepped themselves thinking they could get away with this.”

“Magistrix. Thank you.” Tira’Nore said, looking relieved at El’Tela’s statement, but I wasn’t satisfied. 

“What will they do?” I asked, and El’Tela scoffed. 

“They’ll put pressure on whatever foolish lord allowed this, and that will trickle down to the fools working for them. It will stop. So there is nothing else to worry about.”

I frowned.

“What about the ones that attacked Sha’narin?”“They’ll likely not find them. The fools will disappear into some hole for a while until everyone forgets it happened.” She waved me off.

I looked at her, and realized that the justice of what someone like El’Tela expected wasn’t the sort of justice I could accept.

Isn’t that what I was doing? The Light inside me burned. What was I going to do? Stand here, let some guards handle this, let politics play out?

Or go take Justice into my own hands?

I rose up and walked out without a word. 

The moment I considered it the decision was already made.

What was the point of everything I was doing if it wasn’t to face evil and stop it? Sha’Narin was my apprentice, he worked for my family, and he’d been attacked because of it. 

No. 

No, I wouldn’t just accept such a thing. I headed across the city, casting buffs over myself as I went, activating Devotion Aura, and coating myself in the strength of the Light. 

The Thistle Den was just there, stupidly on the main street, only long gossamer sheets keeping the inside from being seen from the street. The crowd didn’t even react to it, just walking past like it was any normal business.

But it wasn’t.

I headed straight for the door, stepping in brushing the fabric aside and looking in.

Tables circled the bottom floor, sitting tables, with hookah resting in the center of each one, dazed looking elves sat around many of the tables, blowing out reddish smoke.

None of them were thugs, these were just customers. I looked past them, a man standing behind a little counter. He also looked half dazed, but he smiled warmly at me at first before starting to frown when he realized how young I was. 

“Hey kid, this isn’t-”I walked past him, into the back rooms that were also covered with curtains. Again nothing. A VIP room by the look of it, with a magister of some sort sitting back enjoying a woman dancing for him in sheer clothes.

I continued on, they barely even noticed me as I walked through the hall towards the back, each cubby with another private little room, but there was an actual door in the back, 

“H-Hey! Kid you can’t come back here!” The man at the front was scrambling to stop me from behind the counter, and my stride left him in the dust. He wasn’t willing to yell and he couldn’t catch up.

The door was opened without hesitation.

And inside was what I’d expected. 

A back room workshop. The same sort of design as Arkhana’Shola. 

Men and women stood around working. Some were cleaning hookah, some were preparing Bloodthistle, cutting up the fresh plant, and some were dancers waiting for clients. 

None of that mattered, because one of the guys. A big tough looking guy were sitting in the corner drinking.

His hand was bandaged. The sort of thing you’d see on someone punching the crap out of someone. Busted knuckles. My first clue.

The second? He was drinking Arkhana’Cola. 

The third? The entire stock of the soda’s still sitting in the chest carrier Sha’Narin took out to sell the cola.

“Hey what’s with the kid?” The question echoed out through the room, and my target looked up from some game he was playing with a few other toughs around the table.

I strode forward, fists clenched. 

“Are you the one that attacked the Arkhana’Shola worker?” I demanded, already knowing the answer, and my voice echoed around the room despite trying to remain calm. I was very very angry.

“Huh. Brazen one isn’t she? Listen kid, why don’-”I reached out and snagged a Hookah from a woman's hands and then held it out, bottle end first towards a table just tapping it against the edge. “I asked, if you were the one who attacked my people. Don’t answer, and maybe this expensive Hookah gets smashed.”One of the workers, the woman I took it from, reached for it, but I grabbed her wrist and she yelped, unable to break free as I pushed her hand away.

“I won’t ask again.”“And if I was?”“I’m Alah’Dorah, Arkhana’Shola. Remember the name well.” I responded, and then it was time.

Fighting wasn’t something you could hesitate with. It wasn’t something you could go into half heartedly. 

If you were going to commit violence, then you throw yourself entirely into it, and commit the violence, otherwise, you’re the one that will be hurt.

My hands glowed. I let go of the woman's wrist, and shot forward, the thugs had been rising up, obviously sensing trouble at my intrusion.

The Hookah was launched into the second one's face, as I took a table and then leapt.

My glowing fist, filled with Righteous energy slammed into my main target's face with a flying punch.

Flying punches were usually not a good idea, but when you could back up your fist with a sledgehammer, they came with a benefit.

I punched aiming through the mans head as my blow landed heavily, sending him back over the table he was just standing on with a crunch as I landed low and lashed out, punching into a third man's thigh, I could see it wobble as the Seal of Righteousness billowed out from the blow and he cried out as he collapsed, but he’d be back up.

I hadn’t snapped his leg or something.

I stumbled as a chair slammed into me from behind. One of the workers getting involved? But with Devotion Aura I just tanked it with a bruise and moved on.

Lashing out to the second man, who had taken the Hookah and was recovering from the broken pipe. He was ready. And instead of a clean blow he tried to take my head off with a punch, but I was hopped up on Arcane Bloodlust, and sheer rage. 

I juked back and just started raining blows. Each punch hit like a jackhammer, as I forced him back, he yelped with every blow as I struck at his arms as he retreated as fast as he could until he hit a wall.

And then my punch slammed as hard as I could straight forward and crunched him against the wall.

He groaned, as I went for another hit when I felt hit.

Fire and ice.

“Bitch!” A voice screamed and I lashed out, connecting to the first thug that had just stabbed me with a dagger.

He went rolling even the backhand I’d hit him with cratering his cheek as the Seal did its job.

And I stumbled.

Fuck.

Ow.

I looked down. A jeweled dagger stuck out of my side. Kidney shot? Wasn’t that a Rogue move? What a dick move more like…

I shook myself, I was definitely going into shock.

Focus.

Heal.

Move on.

I grabbed the hilt and slowly drew it out, screaming as the pain struck me, as it sliced through my insides in a feeling I’d never forget.

I chucked it away when I finally had it free and dropped to my knees. Gasping as I bled all over the floor.

Damn. That was quite a mess.

No. Focus.Heal.

Holy Light gathered, almost without any effort, was I so hopped up on Light that it was stronger, was it the surge of Justice that had flown through me to do this, or maybe just desperation?

I wasn’t sure.

But the wound closed, and only a small bit of the pain gone with it.

I knew pain.

I rose up and glared. 

The three men looked like shit. 

Goon one was clutching his jaw half bent over. Probably broken.

Two’s arms were shaking at his sides as he still stood slumped into the cracked wall I’d punched him into. And the third one was just staring in shock at what was happening.

The workers had mostly retreated back, eyes wide.

None approached me though? Did they think just stabbing me once was enough?

Did they think this earned them a reprieve?

I rose up, brought my fists up, uncaring how bloody they were now, and charged at goon three. The only one still really up to fighting.

He flinched, scrambling back, but before I could even catch up to him, a voice called out from above.

“What is going on down here!” 

Did I care?

No.

Goon three was scrambling in terror trying to get away from me, and he wasn’t ready to fight.

I juked in, as he swiped at me mostly to get me away and laid a blow to his stomach that had him bending over and retching, which meant I could easily smash him in the face to send him spinning to the floor.

Goon one was still crying about his jaw, so I snapped a hook into his stomach as well. The squeal of pain as he started puking out over his hurt jaw was very satisfying.

Only then did I look up.

He wasn’t a Magister. Not exactly. Looked more like a crime boss. Expensive looking robes in a style I didn’t know, with a pair of sharp knives on his hips. Gold amulet with a large sapphire sat across his chest, along with each finger covered in a sapphire ring.

“You the boss here?” I asked, spitting some blood off to the side, my throat felt raw, probably just the pain. Ignoring the smell of puke spreading out in front of me from Goon one I kept my eyes locked on his.

“I am. You’ve caused trouble in my home.”“Then you shouldn’t have attacked my people. The Arkhana’Shola will not just accept an attack on my people. Be glad this is the extent of my reminder.” Then I reached down and grabbed one of the bottles of Arkhana’Cola.

And chucked it straight at the boss who flinched just barely dodging the shattering glass bottle.

He looked at me a bit wide eyed for a second, as I took the box and threw it over my shoulder my eyes never leaving him as I glared. 

Then I walked out.

Back through the room where everyone jumped out of the way and out into the lounge, which had everyone rubbernecking probably due to the screaming in the back.

I made it out onto the street uncaring that I left a bloody print across the thin gossamer streets, and took a breath.

My side hurt.

“Hold it right there!” The roar came from a pair of guards…

Who promptly grabbed me and started throwing me in handcuffs…

I just sighed.