《Children of Mana》 Prologue Some many thousands of years ago. Merlin stared at the magically projected screen with an intensity that only an archmage of the Deeper Magic can, whilst the array of the most powerful mages sat around waiting for him to respond. In attendance at the round table were all the leaders of the known world, The King Atlas of Atlantis was to his right, as befitting of the second in command of the Archmage¡¯s Circle of Elders. Avalon had Arthur the 5th the only non-mage in attendance, being a Manatouched like his forefathers he could learn to use the internal body magics, his lineage had fostered a dual affinity for space and void that made his position of King Protector of Man and Mortals his true calling. He was King Protector of Avalon and Camelot, home to the Circle of Mages Guards and standing armies, a position that required him to protect the non-mage from abuse of the un-enlightened or fallen mages. Around the table were Zeus of Olympus, Ull of Alfheimr, The head elders of the Mer, The Amazonian delegation, Mage Kings from the south and West continents, The eastern Yan Emperor and the spiritualist from the many islands of the Far Eastern seas. In the auditorium arrayed around were thousands of citizen members of the Great circle, united in the use of Mana and the search for knowledge. ¡°Is it true? Have we not more data to include¡± Merlin asked, knowing the answer before he asked it. He had been the one to start the investigation when he noticed the fading of the great wards. ¡°Marlin, we have spent 50 solar cycles recording from all corners of the globe, We even commissioned the attunement pyramids built to detect leyline fluctuations.¡± said one of the Mage King Pharos from the great sands. ¡°It is undeniable, my friend and we must act now,¡± Said one of many astral projections in the room, this one from one of the Archmages from the great lands to the west, across the Atlantian seas. Atlas spoke and like Merlin before him, all chatter in the room stopped. ¡°In roughly one thousand solar cycles the ley lines will fade and magic will diminish for... ¡° he glanced at his own projection. ¡° from the range of two or three thousand cycles.. Or more¡± Everyone in the room had known this when the call was sent for a grand council and for the first time since the founding of the Great Circle of Magic was it in full attendance. Many solutions were provided in the pre-gathering correspondences, from mass ritual sacrifice to maintain the mana flow in the three thousand year drought to the use of stasis and time manipulation to skip ahead. One thing they all knew is that they could not stop it, it was a natural cycle of the world. A way for evolution to jump forward a few million cycles in a thousand, no one in attendance would know how or would want to stop Gaia and her cycle. But no Mage wanted to lose magic and immortality. ¡°If we stay, we suspect that mana deprivation aside, we will not be able to care for the mortals any longer, our reach will be diminished. The Manaborn and Manatouched will be relegated to mortals. We will not be able to complete our purpose, we will not be able to protect the libraries, the scribes are trying to write it on Pyrus and skins but we have forgotten the old ways in our hubris. All the knowledge will be lost.. We must not allow this to happen¡± This was spoken by Arthur as his position dictated the protection of mortals and knowledge was his only concern. Murmurs of agreement and some small few in disagreement from the stadium rose at Arthur¡¯s assessment. Merlin looked up and the room was silent. ¡°We have two choices to make, We stay or we leave,¡± He said somberly before continuing. ¡°The fey will not have us, nor would they want to. We cannot invade the great seals and stop mass movement both ways, as say the accord of the gods.¡± Many around the great hall made a circle with a finger or hand on their forehead, in homage to the last great war. Many include a small sending of mana to strengthen the great wards. ¡°The Red planet is lost to us and we dare not step foot or risk awaking Tartarus¡± ¡°But not all, some must stay to help the mortals. I will stay¡± predictably said Arthur as was discussed between the small circle days ago, to convince the few sceptics only Arthur would remain to prove it was not a ploy for power. Not a single mage would question his conviction. ¡°What do you suggest, Arch-Mage?¡± a call from the auditorium came. Merlin hid a secret smile knowing Morgana had picked the perfect time. ¡°We can''t stop it, we can bring this calamity forward, the Great Seal''s creation did as much when we cast them and potentially extended the duration, and to forestall arguments this was agreed upon and voted as fact. Anyone, who dispute brings evidence forth or a new theory into the mana and ley fluctuations or the records will remain?¡± Silence ¡°No? agreed. Scribe! in Iron for it to forever hold¡± a ritual saying and a holdover from the Fey war. Unfortunately for the times to come this meeting of the great circle will be scribed into iron, a practice not seen in a thousand years. ¡°Agree twice,¡± said Atlas ¡°Agreed Thrice,¡± said the gathered table as one. ¡° The only option in the next solar network to our own, our scyings have confirmed many livable worlds with a mana core and we have a spell model that can be used for the travel, However, we will only have a single cast then the calamity will be upon the few that remain.'''' Merlin finished and with a flick of his hand, the mentioned formulas and runes were sent to all. ¡°What of the Gods? They still will not speak to us on the calamity, our auguries have failed to confirm this. We know this is your doing Merlin¡± yelled one of the kings of free cities, this city namely Troy. King Priam was always a sceptic of the calamity, relying on the words of gods. Words that were bound in deep magic and rules self-imposed after the War of the gods. His outburst was not unexpected and Arthur was chosen to deal with the answer to avoid escalation.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡° The gods cannot and will not answer; to do so would be seen by Gaia as interference and punished accordingly, and what of the gods? This is our discovery and our choice. Merlin and others discovered the event and I know that your auguries have confirmed from the gods it has happened in the past. So I ask What Of The Gods? And I will remind you your answer will be recorded into the archives of Camelot and Alexandria.. In iron. King Priam did not flinch at Arthur''s rebuke by responding in kind with venom and scorn. ¡°I am accusing YOU MERLIN of sealing Gods in geas, You did it During the God Wars and you have DONE IT AGAIN¡± His accusation brought a stillness to the room, as an accusation of this magnitude if proven true would be death. A Law on the first Tablet that Moses presided over and Merlin helped write. Moses perked up at the mention of an accusation, who sat on the Chair of Law directly behind Merlins on a throne elevated to symbolise no one is above the Fifteen Commandments. The bearer of the commandments looked from the King of Troy to the Archmage of the great circle of Mages with his golden left eye, given to him from Oden the Allfather as a gift in homage to Moses¡¯s wisdom and his Right silver eye that death had given him to see past the veil of untruth. ¡°The claim is... FALSE, However, the King of Troy Believes it in his heart and mind to be true, No Punishment and No Recourse. But, know this, the gods may not talk of such things for it will have a direct impact on all of Mankind, but I can ¡± Moses¡¯s voice was booming and when he spoke even the gods would be unwise to not listen. Merlin was shocked, his oldest friend had not spoken more than the word of Guilt and punishment since he gave his soul to the Law they had created. Merlin''s only hope was that what he had planned was true and right for if Moses spoke against him in this, he would have to abandon his plan of salvation. ¡°The Calamity will happen, and most must go. For if you stay our great society will not survive.`` As he said this a faint and sad smile appeared on his sombre face, his hand moved to rest on the tablet containing the first five commandments that were exclusively for Mages, the later ten were for mortals and Manatouched, but the first five were sacred to mages only. ¡°I must not go, I must stay to hold the gods to the laws until the last moment or we risk intervention, but I will help you leave. Some may question this path but I will give my right eye back to death to see you to your new home. SO SAY I, IN IRON!¡± The room was bathed in Golden light as Moses called forth his Deeper magic, gifted to him by both sides of the pantheons at the end of the God¡¯s War. On the first tablet was now another commandment, one that said simply Thou Shall find salvation in the stars and with that his right eye dimmed from bright silver to a dull grey. Merlin''s breath caught in his chest, like most in attendance before he released it as a sigh, and thanked his old friend with a small nod. Moses had not sided with anyone, not even an inch in a dispute for the last 100 years. His face was now graced with a sad smile, then a shake of his head. Merlin was about to say he would do as Moses did to ensure the plan, but Moses stopped him ¡°NO¡± again the room froze at Moses¡¯s word. ¡°No member of the High council shall remain, except for Arthur and his order, This must be so.¡± with the great Law Keeper''s words, it was now as good a moot argument or as close to the law as the mages had. Merlin looked to a few members who he suspected would ignore this, but he suspected Moses knew this too, we just need most. ¡°So¡­¡± Said the Yan Emperor ¡°When do we start and what will be required of us¡± he finished, looking from Moses to Merlin. ¡° We will use the great works around our cities, we shall use the ley lines in the same way we made the great seals and we shall leave and arrive through space and time to our new home, for when this calamity is over we shall return to see what is left or what the mortals have become.¡± Merlin finished looking around the great auditorium for any disagreement. He saw a sew but it was a stone in the ocean. ¡°But what of the Gods, Some are absent, others can only whisper. SOMETHING IS TAKING THEIR POWER!!¡± Shrieked Priam again. This time it was a Pharaoh to respond ¡°Unlike the free cities, we do not ask our gods about things they are law bound to not answer. AND WE asked what we could do to help them, and derive answers from that. King Priam of Troy do you know what answer we divined?¡± said the Pharaoh with a refinement only an immortal King of the south could achieve. ¡°No¡± came the hiss ¡°If I had the proof, I would not have asked here¡± ¡°Then maybe you should have asked your gods, however, the answer was that the mana does not diminish, but condense inwards back to Gaia and her core. The gods asked for us to give and not take, so that they may hibernate and outlast a cataclysm. That is what I and my fellow Pharos have and will continue to do since we first learned of the calamity.¡± The Pharaoh magic screen slightly flashes indicating messages from the assembly. This information was common knowledge for most who attended the regular sessions of the Great council. Now all would know the reasons for the lessening voices of the gods. ¡°Now, what we need to do now¡­¡± said Merlin ¡­¡­¡­ Approximately 75 Solar cycles later ¡°Are you ready?¡± asked Merlin to his two closest allies ¡°Yes Arch-Mage,¡± said Arthur, Moses only nodded. ¡°I trust you with this, we must give the mortals a chance when the mana returns,¡± Merlin said knowing this was the last time he would see both men. ¡°If you return Arch-Mage, the mortals will all be enlightened. The genetic modelling is sound, The fourth Law of separation will not prevent it and the modification to the great seals will enable new gods to be born. We that remain to have faith in Moses and the plan, Emperor Yan¡¯s fifth son shall remain in the east, Genghis Khan and his clan in the north, and one of the Mien Princess in the far West these select few have modified the translocation framework to move in time, worry not my friend we will have our people appear throughout the drought to ensure the gift is not restricted. Manatouched and mana born will not be a few in a hundred thousand when mana returns. When the mana rises back the frameworks will hold and the crystallization of the great seals along the new ley lines is guaranteed, our descendants shall not fear the Fey through lack of knowledge. This I am certain.¡± said Arthur as he gripped his mage blade Excalibur, which in a few short moments would become a regular sword. ¡°The Burden of the First Five Commandments will not restrict us in this, as when you leave the ambient mana will be too low to enforce, and when you return¡­ I cannot see past the return¡± Moses confirmed and Merlin nodded in affirmation with a hint of relief, as this would not be possible without his sacrifice. ¡°And the cults that follow the drakes have been silent, some of our operatives have reported some kind of preparations for the event, but nothing that could pose a threat¡± added the knight with a look of worry. Melin nodded at Arthur¡¯s report, ¡°the Dragons have been around longer than us, I suspect that have survived this before, or the older ones will just sleep through it, I care not¡± Merlin feared the unknown, an unknown of what his people will find upon their return, his secret research had proven his suspicions that it was an event like this that mutated the apes into humans, he was afraid that he would return to a world devoid of humanity and replaced with something else, something he would need to cleanse to secure magekinds rightful place. The Dragons allowed humans to evolve and now they are relegated to the mountains and shadows, and the dragons are vastly more powerful than the common individual mage. A small pulse of mana to his brain calmed him and his resolve. Merlin pulled his oldest friends into a hug and whispered ¡°My Gaia guide us.¡± As the Greatest Spell ever cast concluded the greatest cities in the world and the most powerful empire vanished in a blinding golden light. Only hints and stories of the empires and people remained. ------- At the point in space that had no place in time, a place that if any mage knew, they would curse their ancestors at their inability to look there first, a Greater God and Divine Beast opened its scaly eye and looked through eons of space and time. He saw the extinction of his progeny in droves, he saw a great war that followed and his eventual exile, for he could not be killed like his children¡­ not in the mortal sense of the word. He did, however, see hope, and a chance, so he tipped the scales, and offered a few of his line knowledge at just the right point in time to make difference, he then allowed manipulation of time and held back the void for a microsecond to allow it to finish. After this slight effort, the divine beast sent out a magical command to his progeny, a message that would resonate in all drake-kinds blood for generations, before he closed his eyes, eyes that would not open for the next few thousand years. His intent was clear and he knew a few would not listen or understand for his kind would never be slaves, but he only needed a few to heed and the ones that perished would only strengthen the whole with their deaths. For his blood would survive and be passed on. With the slight smile on his Tooth filled maw, normally his children would seek the deep parts of Gaia and be close to the ambient energies of the world and hibernate, the strong and old would outlast a few thousand years of drought, the weak would perish. The eldest of his children would do this, as they have done before. This new idea was inspired by a mage and friend, a mage that would count him as an enemy, Merlin. Why just sleep when my blood could be passed on in secret? and why not mix and see what could be made from new and old? Chapter 1. How about that rain Spencer clicked the TV off and decided to just drink his morning coffee in silence. His wife was working late again or early depending on your perspective, not that a stay at home-ex-army dad would not understand working late. His wife was on some big government secret breakthrough that she couldn''t tell him about. Anything other than the yearly re-brief on the current things Spencer was told about but can''t talk about. The wife, the workaholic, was unable to hide how pregnant she was anymore and was given every opportunity to take time off by her boss, however, she chose to work on... something. Basic procedures for the last few months, her whole research team would be on lockdown until the bureaucracy could understand what was going on enough to have a funny name on it with some caveated letter. After that, she would only be able to talk about it at her work so¡­. It was just him and the kid last night and she so graciously decided to not sleep much at all, deciding to sleep the morning away like an 18-year-old and not the 4 years old she was. The TV had shifted from click-bait political trash to actual news, the strange weather that was messing with all the predictive models of the El Nino cycle, adding to the laundry list of links to climate change. The news went on reporting on Massive storms out at sea that build up in hours to only dissipate within seconds, odd things happening in the middle of cities with power, animals behaving strangely and in particular a surge in rat populations. On this morning''s panel of experts, a ¡°Doctor¡± was talking about the Heightened aggressiveness and birth rates recorded in zoos and wildlife preserves, in domestic pet''s birth rates that have increased exponentially and at twice the natural speed of gestation. Spencer smiled as he recalled a feature of an endangered white tiger being filmed breaking into the adjacent large cat pens and proceeding to procreate with every female kitty within reach. A buzz from a phone distracted Spencer long enough from his contemplation end and at the same time a call from upstairs ¡°DADDDDDDDYYYYYYY¡± Spencer¡¯s daughter was always like this when she woke up, smiling and chatting with the words she had learned and forming sentences that missed a few words which made it all the more endearing. he glanced at his phone before getting up off the couch, to give his daughter the attention she expected by now, that was her being carried downstairs and breakfast was given like some princess and him a butler. Password: ***************** Wife: It''s big babe, REALLY big. We can talk now because it won''t matter in a few hours Wife: The energy the thing is making is the key to everything. Wife:... Me: That''s what she said. Spencer''s reply was automatic and sent before he knew his thumbs had hit send Odd, was the thought after actually taking in what she sent, even on an encrypted chat she should have not said anything about her work, strange then that she sent it too, she would have had to go outside send it then go back in, normally she would send and forget not send a follow-up message. It had stopped the dots which meant she was typing. By this point in time, Spencer was at the top of the stairs and standing in the little one''s master bedroom that used to belong to his wife and me. Absently he came to the thought of why she didn''t just come downstairs but instead lay down next to the lump in the blankets. The expected reply buzz never came from his left hand as he pocketed the phone and picked up the tiny angel, to her squeals of joy. "Daddy cuddle, I want butter and toast," she asked with a look that said nothing else would do. A quick night nappy check and getting the clothes from her room layout on the floor. She had started doing this before she called for me, obviously not trusting his own choice of clothes and which she insisted had been clean and not the same she had on yesterday. After she got her breakfast from the kitchen she went over and sat at the table with the look of smugness only a child can have. The only missing part of his routine morning was the buzzing of his phone, with the awaited message from his wife asking what Victoria¡¯s daily attire was. ¡°Strange mama must be busy,¡± he said to the mop of blonde hair and big blue eyes staring at him while she was waving the tv remote in the air as if to say ¡®priorities father¡¯. ¡°I am Mummys princess¡± echoed her singsong voice after hearing the matriarch''s monikers. ¡° Yes you are, want to watch tv so dad can do his work out?¡± The response was expected but pleasing to hear from her. ¡°OUTSIDE YEAH¡± ¡°Ok, let''s set you up with some shoes so you can watch da¡± The hour of happy Victoria watching her dad do funny dances with heavy things was interrupted by her timely demands for more food ¡°Daddy, I''m hungry and I want water, please,¡± she said with a hint of irritation and predictable demands for her mid-morning snacks. ¡°Fruit?¡± he asked with some hope, ¡°toast n butter¡± she squealed with indignation. The weights of the last set were placed down and he finished for the most important members of the household''s needs were catered to. A lunchtime Disney movie on her tablet was all the requirements for Victoria to let me clean the whirlwind mess of toys and books. ¡­¡­.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Sometime later he glance at his phone whilst on the way downstairs was all the confirmation he needed from his wife, she was not joking about how big the discovery was, she had always texted back every hour or so during a work marathon. It was an unofficial policy about seeing sunlight in the facility she was stationed in and by extension checking her phone after removing it from the lockboxes in the foyer. Every hour or two all the eggheads and support staff would trickle out in groups or on their own, look at phones, get coffee or just see the sun for a short while. For her to not message means they are keeping everyone locked in or worse locked down. The last reason and the worst of the conclusions about the message''s absence was made as Spencer entered the lounge room. It was still shrouded in the same gloom that the upstairs blackout curtains create. From sunny mornings to grey-black clouds in the time it took him to put toys away, Spencer chuckled to himself, he guessed climate change was a thing after all. A few more steps towards the back of the house and glancing out through the glass of the back door confirmed a mother of all storms was rolling in. Dark almost purple foreboding clouds could be seen on the horizon, like the Hemera of ancient Greece, darkness was being pulled across the sky by Eos. A sigh escaped his lips as he mumbled about wanting to do washing today. He stood for some time just watching as the storm rolled from the horizon into the range of the coast. Bbbbzzzt from his phone. Password: ***************** Wife: work is going to get the boy for me, warning will be on TV soon, just wait it out k Wife: come to work when it''s over. I love you dork. Keep the girls safe Me: Will do gorgeous, she is watching a movie, love you 2. With a bigger sigh and a glance back to the inbound storm he walked to the lounge and sat next to Victoria. Almost as a creepy foreshadowing, the sky got darker still. Spencer confirmed his daughter was still engrossed in some princess movie, he kissed her forehead as directed and did when any man would do with the approach of a storm. Absolutely nothing. With the ease of an elephant, he flopped back onto the couch and Victoria snuggled into him, fumbling for the remote that had been wedged between the seat covers, he turn the TV on and the volume down before switching to the news, a few clicks later the news was on and the report into what would be the single most important news story on earth for the last 3 thousand years was about to begin. ¡°Oii daad, I can''t hear it¡± she protested after he reached over and lowered the sound by half on her tablet, to then have to move it up one in capitulation. ¡°Thanks, daddy¡± An image of a very flustered male tv anchor flickered to life cutting out the previous segment talking about the new bill in the local house of parliament, that in itself was not odd. The oddity was that Spencer knew for a fact that the new services would have shown other news as a banner on the lower of the screen with a logo for the station he was on. No, what cut into the commercial Fox-news equivalent was the local government broadcasting news channel and the large red banner at the top of the screen ¡®Emergence Extreme Weather Warning¡¯. Clicking the guide button on his remotes, the confirmation of his suspicions was alarming. All the programming had been replaced with the broadcast, and no other programing data was available. ¡°That bad hay?¡± he asked no one To which Victoria shushed him. Clicking the volume up to be able to hear it, a panicked voice broke through ¡°...ust in, breaking news for the meteorological department, a cyclone or supercell has .. appeared over the coast within the last few hours and is continuing to grow.¡± He said the last bit like he didn''t quite believe the teleprompter. ¡° We received a warning from the federal government an hour ago and have since been repeating this message on all media bands and streaming services enacted by your ISP,¡± a slight shuffle of paper and a sip of water and he continued, in the brief respite the presenter gave himself Spencer was able to notice a few inconsistencies with the scene before him. The anchor was not one of the local reporters he knew about, his face did not have the telltale signs of makeup, the camera was slightly off and you could see absolute chaos in the gap between the fake cityscape screens behind him. The biggest tell was the absence of any news logo at the top or bottom of the screen. The news banners that run along the bottom of the screen would follow the storm warning message with an ¡®error RSS feed. Check the internet connection.¡¯ ¡°what the shit¡± he vocalised as the flustered man continues At the same time, the movies Victoria was watching started to buffer and a frozen image of a snowman with a spinning circle was replaced with the ¡®internet connection down¡¯ message and a confused cartoon animal was on the screen crying. ¡°DAAAADDDY you did it again¡± she yelled ¡°Sorry bubba, let daddy fix it¡± was Spenser''s response to the tiny harumph. As he used the remotes to swap back from the guide mode to normal TV, the last channel was now the default channel, but it didn''t matter how many times he changed the channel up or down it was all the same. ¡°Not a daddy show, kids show on right now,¡± she said pointing to the TV, assuming he was trying to get her movie on the big TV, but she must have seen his face because she just sat there and watched with him, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. The same guy was still at his desk having a side conversation with someone trying to fix the gap between the hastily constructed green screen that flickered from city-scape to green. He was now, even more, fluster than before and looked to have even forgotten that he was still live on TV at all Suddenly he jerked, squinted at his teleprompter before trembling slightly, he took a deep breath and began. ¡°This is a message from the federal government, since receiving this we have been unable to contact any of the main media channels and our connection to the international hosting services via satellite is down. This message is being broadcast on all national emergency frequencies and bands, as per governmental special instructions Martial Law Order, as per relevant sections of the Defence act. ¡± he seemed to grow paler as he read the teleprompter, he glanced to the side before nodding at someone and continued. Spenser looked at his phone and saw no new messages, nothing yet from his reserve unit for a call in. He frowned and looked back to the screen. ¡°A Catastrophic storm warning is now in effect and a state of national emergency, areas affected are¡­¡± the anchor processed to stare at the camera for a few seconds before looking to his left. ¡° do we have any imagery? ¡­.¡± A barely audible response came through. ¡°It''s 5 min old Chris, we lost data after that.¡± ¡°Dear God¡± he said just before the small screen that had an image of a cartoon rain cloud was replaced with a map of the country with black clouds roiling a few kilometres of the coast, all the oceans and surging towards the coastlines with large swirling storms forming over major cities out of nothing, before jumping back to the start and playing again in a loop. Intermingled within the darkness you could see huge lightning bolts dancing in purples and blues. ¡°Everywhere...the warning is for all states and territories¡­. And all countries¡­¡± Thunder sounded then harsh, deep and ominous and a cold bead of sweat ran down Spenser¡¯s back. ¡°Authorities recommend staying indoors and seeking shelter within rooms with no windows, emergency services are being deployed to stock local schools with resources for use as shelters and authorities recommend ... ¡± he rattled on a few more standard storm warning tips, this continued for a few hours on a loop before at approximately 1723h the sky darkened to the point of complete blackness, a quick glance at his phone showed the dreaded cross denoting no mobile tower coverage. It was at that moment that the power flickered off, a huge boom sounded as the rain hit the house sounding more like machine-gun fire that rattled your teeth, and the little girl started to cry. Chapter 2. After Spencer calmed her down enough, he was able to get headphones for her tablet from the car to try and lesson the sound of rain, he could see her giggling as she would look up at him as he was running around with a flashlight, the sound was building up if that was possible and Spencer was in a mad rush to get the house prepped for the largest storm known to man. He moved Victoria into the safest place in the house, the toilet adjacent to the central hallway. With a kiss on the head, she held her teddy tighter and waved her flashlight, headphones on and some random cashed video on the tablet and not a pirated movie. Sitting on the floor, the little girl giggled and bopped up and down as if knowing her happiness would contrast with his misery. Her tiny cheers of ¡®go daddy get doggy¡¯ were barely audible over the hammering of the rain and rattling of the windows. Spencer braced himself and hoped the dog would be waiting just outside the door. His hopes were shattered as he opened the door and was almost knocked off his feet by the wind and rain blasting in through the opening. A storm was not the right word for what this was, it was an assault by the heavens. The wind buffeted his hands about as he shone the torch towards the dog house and the rain felt like paintball rounds. But the noise was the worst. It was like losing your hearing, it went from the roar of a nightclub and transitioned into a deafening rave. He attempted a whistle and was rewarded with nothing but cold water in his mouth and the unblinking eyes reflected from the kennel. Spencer braced himself for the trek across the garden to rescue man''s most loyal follower. As much as Spencer thought he could handle the outside assault, standing in the open doorway was but a fraction of the intensity outside. As he passed the threshold the wind almost sensed his egress from safety, by the way, it surged and violently shoved him to the left before being blown 3 metres out and onto the muddy swap that was previously a lawn. The darkness was almost complete, the only source of light being my torch and even that seemed to be losing. The powerful dolphin brand stacking up short against the intensity of the rain. Laying in the slowly flooding backyard the extreme cold of the rain seeped into his bones and the beating of the rain was a blanket of pain. It was at that moment that a furry tri-colour flash passed through the light of his torch and dove into the house. For as deafening as the rain was you could still hear Spencer''s internal groan and curse towards that fucking dog. Task one completed, he crawled along the ground and poked his head inside to see the dog had already shaken himself dry and was sitting loyally and protectively next to his true master, Victoria. To add insult to injury the little jerk even had the nerve to roll his eyes and chuff at him. Spenser gritted his teeth against the pain of the aquatic deluge, after moving up to the opening into warmth and dryness, he slowly slid the door shut praying to any god that it would not lock itself while he was outside securing the window covers. That would fuck him over more. It took Spenser over an hour to manually roll down the metal mechanical shutters that protected the windows from storms and in some cases when no one was home, unwanted intrusion. Half of the time he spent securing the house was spent going from window to window trying to find the detachable Handles that should have been attached to a clip next to the window. But evidently, most had been blown away, after doing a complete circuit around the house he found the last one attached to the clip next to the window right next to the back door he exited from some half an hour before. Spenser screamed profanities so loud that even the storm could not block all of it out. After an additional half-hour, he had crank in one hand and the torch in another and the majority of the ground floor windows had been secured. Spenser was able to peek through the current window to check on his angel to find her petting the dog with him asleep at her feet, Jerk dog he muttered more to himself than the targets of his ire. Another hour later and about a foot more of rain and all bottom floor windows were secured. After two hours in the storm, his boots were drenched, his body bruised and the raincoat might have been made from paper by how wet he was underneath it. Praise be to Murphy''s law, the door was not locked and he was able to walk inside. The act was like walking into a hot shower. The rain was so cold and hard-hitting that it wasn''t until Spenser was out of its wrath did he realise how cold it was. Closing the door behind himself and hoped the security screen would hold back any debris that was bound to be wiped up in the ever-increasing storm. He stripped out of his wet clothes and placed them into a sink, naked, bruised but warm, the towel he had set aside was like paradise and a change of khaki pants and a nice new dry shirt had him forgetting about the tingling of his skin from the slight bruising. When he was dry and dressed, he was able to notice the strange smell coming off him, it wasn''t bad, just unusual after a few sniffs he was able to determine that the smell was stronger in the sink filled with now wet clothes and the puddle by the door and boots, it was like flowers but more specifically it was almost the same smell as my wife¡¯s favourite perfumes and by extension the smell she always seemed to have. Thinking about it was swiftly forgotten as wishful thinking as he needed to finish securing the upstairs windows and figure out what to do next. Both confused and a little creeped out by the smell Spenser glanced at the rain through glass doors before looking at Victoria who was still patting the dog. Walking closer to check if she was hungry or needed anything, he noticed that she and the immediate area around her were wet. The dog as if knowing the deduction he would make, sprinted away and up the stairs with its tail between his legs. ¡°Fucking dog, my poor little darling, did that silly woofer get you all wet¡± Spencer spoke, louder than he intended but not enough to overcome the heavy drone of the rain. ¡°Wet doggy daddy, the new dress now?¡± she replied matter of factly. As Spenser picked her up, clear relief was visible on his face to find that she was not cold and wet, but damp and warm, like she had just come out of the bath and the same smell was around her. As he moved her over to his hip she snuggled into him and licked Spenser''s T-shirt. ¡°Oiii, non of that princess¡± he scolded, with more playfulness than scorn. After she started laughing ¡°Daddy you smell like ice cream¡± Curiosity got the better of him and he took a sniff and felt the water puddle under where Victoria and the dog had rested. Warm also, and again smelling like Eve, strange. Shaking his head as if to dispel an unwanted memory he straightened up and moved himself and his princess to her room. After getting her out of her wet clothes and into a warm set of long pants and shirt. He used the lever to close the last few upstairs shutters. Whatever loser decided that the inside manual winders look ugly and at every opportunity should be on the outside should get drenched and beaten up by rain, oh wait he did Spenser muttered to himself. After that task was completed, during which Victoria fell asleep in bed while waiting for Spencer to finish with the blinds and they both made their way into the central second-floor hallway. With great difficulty and care, He was able to move her to the couch without Victoria waking from her sleep. So she would be more comfortable, he had her head on a pillow and laid down with Spencer at her feet. Victoria was oblivious to the manhandling of the makeshift bed and the pounding of the storm outside, and the only reason Spenser did not panic was her rising and falling chest as she lay sleeping. Not having a shutter on the glass backdoor annoyed him as it would have cancelled a lot of the sound. He had to move a spare mattress up against it and flipped the dining table to its side to brace it before the sound was somewhat less abusive to his ears. Spenser felt at least with this he shouldn''t have to deal with any more increase in the storm''s sound or worse a broken glass door from debris flying into the last remaining weakness in the house. Unfortunately, during the impromptu fortification, he noticed water lapping at the threshold of the back door, which was a good 2 feet of water built up in his backyard. That was concerning for the most part because the decline from the back of the property to the front should have meant most of the water would have run off around and past his house. But that was a lot of water and flooding could be an issue if this rain kept at it. With a deep breath, with the kid asleep, most of the house was now secure and Spenser was able to take a pause and start to prioritise his efforts going forward, having to add flooding to his ever-growing mental list of things he needed to solve for things he had little control over.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The hours that Victoria was asleep prove to be equal parts productive and concerning for Spenser. First of all, she had not awoken by the ear ringing sounds of thunder that periodically cut through the constant roar of the rain. She didn''t have a temperature and she didn''t wake when he had to move her from the couch to the portable camp cot he had set up in a more central area of the house, further away from windows. He was always a little worried about his daughter and his wife, with Spenser always being the slightly more paranoid of the two, but her breathing was steady and she looked calm in her sleep, so he left her to rest. While concerning it was productive because he was able to find all the batteries squirrelled around the house and was able to get about 50L of water out of the taps into two 20L water containers and bottles before the water pressure gave out. On the food front, he had 2 weeks of food with pasta, rice, canned and long-life items, with maybe a week of CRP from all the time he had brought back extra from field exercises. The perishables would last less than a week But if this storm lasted longer than that everyone would have bigger issues, not the first time Spenser wondered aloud that the storm could not possibly go that long... Probably. It was during another one of Spenser''s musings that he looked at his phone and noted again that the cell towers were still down and power was not likely to be coming back before this had ended. With a deep breath, he switched his phone off to save power. The bigger concern he had was not the cell outage, his provided was spotty in the rain at the best of times. No, it was the fact that there was nothing on the radio, at all, no AM, no FM, nothing on the ISM band, only the slightly discernible sound of static, at first Spenser had thought all his radios were broken or the batteries were low, however, that was quickly dispelled when he pressed transmit and was able to hear own voice with the squelch on the receive only sets. ¡°Any call sign Radio check over¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Just his voice playing back to him, for what was probably the hundredth time judging from the voltage left indicated on the battery unit. ¡°Any call sign. Any call sign radio check radio check over¡± ¡°...................¡± ¡°Nothing OUT¡± Even the emergence channels were silent, and that sent cold shivers that scared him the most. He spent the next little while getting together some of the go-bags with extra clothes, some of the ration packs, batteries and some other odds and ends, in case he and Victoria needed to leave in a hurry after the storm passed, but other than that he was just sitting next to the portable cot waiting for her to wake with the dog in overwatch from the landing on the stairs, with the cats probably in one of the other rooms hiding, or did they go out this morning¡­ ¡°Shit¡± Spenser cursed, getting a stirring out of his daughter, but she kept sleeping. . ¡­¡­¡­. ¡°daddy¡­ sleeping haha¡± blinking away the fog in his head and finding a little hand was gripping a few of the fingers on his left hand and she was now sitting next to Spenser, the cot was no obstacle for her it would seem. Spenser slapped his face a few times to wake up as he realised he must have dozed off at some point on the surprisingly comfortable couch. It was at that moment as he stood up to reacquaint himself with his other senses and the still ongoing roar of the rain that he realized how incredibly hungry he was, and it was not the skipped lunch hunger, it was the days with no food hungry. ¡°Dad food please?¡± Victoria all but shouted again to get over the din of rain. After picking her up and a phone power cycle to check for an unlikely restoration in cell coverage and time. The time was 1738 shown by the little digital analog clock on his phone, and that wasn''t so late for an afternoon nap but his grumbling gut was insistent that he was way more hungry than what was reasonable. Before eating he should make sure nothing had changed, the garage door still had the LED torch in its spot next to the door and turning it on to check a charge and to sweep its illuminated across the garage, he noticed a massive growing puddle lapping a few meters from the threshold, the water slowly seeping in from beneath the roller door. Spenser let out another sigh. ¡°Can¡¯t this just stop already?¡± he said to Victoria as she followed him to the freezer, both were going to get wet feet in addition to the meals from the chest freezer. Noticing two reflected orbs he zeroed the light beam across the garage and spied Moriarty the dog asleep on one of the empty shelves his head lolling on the edge about 10 cm from the open dog food bin, his stomach bulging. ¡°You pupper, are too smart for your own good¡± Spenser scolded the dog for getting into his food container, not in the slightest bit concerned or worried as the hound was currently using the month''s worth of dry dog food as a mattress on said shelves. ¡°Daaddy can I have some food, please¡± A small squeak only just loud enough to hear even though she was right by Spenser''s arm got him moving again. Setting up one of the camp propane cookers its design could accommodate an ad hoc oven style configuration. Spenser was able to cook a few of the partial frozen ready meals to a fairly good standard. After what felt like hours, but was only 15 minutes the food was ready and both devoured food like it was Christmas dinner that was delayed because of the late arrival of one particular uncle. With no reason or ability to preserve the perishable food father and daughter ate loads of side dishes and almost the entire content of the freezer. Victoria with her little teeth was eating the premade steak and sausage, like some kind of barbarian and Spenser had forgone manners due to a ravenous appetite that seemed to have no end. Both had by the end, be able to get through a loaf of bread worth of cold meat and salad sandwiches on top of the 12 meals that had been cooked in the cooker. Spenser was getting worried that he and Victoria might have some kind of super worms when she finished her latest meal with a grandiose declaration. ¡°Mm..k finishes, bedtime daddy" in her sweet little voice, followed by a massive yawn that morphed into a burp. She promptly shuffled over to the cot, snuggling into her blanket and was almost asleep before her head hit the pillow. It was around this time that he checked his phone again for the second time since waking up. The little digital representation was showing that the hand was indeed on the six and the big hand was on the five, it was the other details on his phone that gave him pause, for starters the digital display now expanded due to the phone, not being restricted by a lock pin, its exact time now showed not 1738 or more specifically 1823 right now, But 6:23 AM and the day said Friday, a deep dread hit Spenser in the gut, the storm had hit on Tuesday¡­.. ¡°Holy fuck where were asleep for over two days¡± looking at the sleeping girl, that spike of fear wrapped around his spin slithered up from his gut and took hold at the base of Spenser''s skull. Victoria was now soundly asleep, a few horrible scenarios ran across his mind that was slowly being clouded with panic before he had to stop his panic induce meltdown with a monumental effort of will, he smashed away the dark thoughts. Justification ran through his mind, the darkness is just making her tired, kids are not used to not having light stimulation, it makes them more tired, he tried to reassure himself, he was also tired so that was probably right. Feeling another crescendo of rain and thunder as the storm pelts the house with yet more rain, Spenser realised his helplessness, a fear that he would not be able to get help if something was wrong. ¡°Fuck me.¡± he spat. The storm continued to rage outside for another few hours with the booms of lightning resounding now and again, Spenser kept his mind off this by busying himself with work. During that time, he had to put rolled-up towels against the gap below the garage door to try and stop some of the water from seeping in, uselessly repackaged his go bags and rearranged the food and water supply. A crash and a few whimpers were the only interruptions to his busy work, that upon investigation ended up being the dog falling off the shelves, which made Spenser smile and Victoria giggle in her sleep. ¡°wooffffffer¡± she mocked the poor beagle, eyes opening for a second before drifting closed again. In the darkness, he could just make out the silhouette families K9 sulking out of the garage and coming to rest on less wet terrain, namely the middle landing of the stairs, leaving wet paw prints along the way. The water patches glistened with a rainbow of colours as spencer scanned them with the shine of his torch, further investigation revealed a similar smell to all the water before and a warmness that defied logic. ¡°Silly dog¡± Spenser spoke to no one in particular while glancing down to see if the dog''s escapades had disturned his daughter, only to find her deep in sleep and still resting on the cot. ¡°Might as well go to bed then bubba?¡± he said more to hear something that wasn¡¯t the drone from the deluge of rain from above. A slight murmur was his only response, but he was already walking up the stairs with her in his arms to put her to bed. The thought crossed his mind that his fatigue was unusual, but the seeping darkness was confusing and it felt to him that it was the deep night With a groan, he shifted Victoria as he alighted the last step of the stairs. He was really tired and craved a coffee, but he surmised it was the near pitch blackness and inability to hear anything but the rain that was also causing his drowsiness and he haven¡¯t had a brew in a day now. After making sure all the window shutters in the master suite were all still secure and tight, the double glazed windows kept out the sounds somewhat but almost did nothing for the drone of rain on the tin roof. Spenser tucked Victoria into the master bedroom¡¯s queen-size bed, and she promptly kicked one leg up and removed the blankets. With a smile, he lay down next to her and closed his eyes and almost instantly started to drift off. With the roar of rain and the boom of thunder a warm tingle ran from my gut and spread throughout his body. An alarm bell started ringing in the back of his mind and he should have been alarmed, but as he slowly drifted off to sleep a spike of pain and pressure hit his head like nothing I have ever felt before, Light-filled his vision as he struggled to move his body in an attempt to mitigate the growing pain, a silent scream on anguish left Spenser''s touch muffled by his inability to open his mouth and hazy darkness with gaining speed consumed the blinding light leaving only a small pinprick of radiant light be for blinking out into nothingness. Chaper 3. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± a deep resonating voice woke Spenser from his stupor. His head was fuzzy and the pressure all around it made it feel as if his head was too full, and the hazy fog right before being fully away would not leave his mind. ¡°Let me help,¡± the voice rumbled again, and the compounding tension in Spencer''s mind lifted. As he opened his eyes, only greyness could be seen around him, a sudden cold panic washed from his chest to his gut before seeping to the rest of his body, an uncontrollable fear that has plagued him for years. A fear that inevitably resulted in his discharge from the Army, trying to focus his fear by targeting his weakness on an important fear. ¡°Where is my daughter?!¡± he gasped his need to protect his child focusing his mind like a laser. Eyes darting erratically in his field of vision, in an attempt to look for his daughter, his child should have been in bed next to him, however, around him were only the grey swirling mists. Finally, after controlling his raging emotions, he was able to move his head to his left, and about 10 meters away was a giant man dressed in red plate mail sitting crossed legged and looming over his sweet child. The giant had a beard that was the colour of fire and Victoria was standing on her toes, fists balled and clenching the before mentioned beard. He must have been staring like that for a full minute, laying on his side paralysed by indecision, feeling like hours. A burst of rumbling laughter like boulders crashing together broke Spencer''s inaction. Victoria then look towards her father, but it wasn''t Victoria, but at the same time he felt like he knew her, No Spenser did know her, like a song''s name you can''t quite remember but can recall the words and tune flawlessly. His head pounded in pain and a mounting pressure crescendoed before she smiled and she was much older and so much like her mother. ¡°I am safe father, I will only lose how we did it, a price I have come to learn was always going to be paid¡± she smiled sadly before speaking again. ¡°I will see you soon father¡± She started to fade into a smoke-like texture and fear gripped him yet again, but just as quickly a deep burning rage replaced it, a rage that threatened to overcome him. A sad thought broke through Spencer''s anger, ¡®why must I be like this?¡¯ The thoughts of the past threatened to surface yet again but with a herculean effort, he put that box in his mind away and buried it deep within his subconscious, so deep that no amount of Government-funded help could dig it up. In a split second of real-time, he tensed and dove at the giant to save his daughter before she disappeared completely, a daughter that wasn¡¯t Victoria. The tower of a man turned his head towards Spencer instantly and his eyes locked with his. His eyes were not the eyes of a man, but gold and blue and slit like a lizard. Cold fear threatened to shoot down his spine and swelled in his gut, for not the first time in his life he was unable to move, think or react in any way. The two men stared at each other for what felt like ages, with the smaller of the two in a half sprinter start and the larger with a head cocked in curiosity. His look softened and the fear that was held over Spencer was gone instantly. With Spencer almost falling over in shock ¡°What the fuck was that? I feel¡­ nothing¡± With the creaking of leather and the dull thud of thick steel, the man in red turned his body towards Spenser and stood to his full height. Like a graceful dancer, the man twisted with only a single dull thud of the plates of metal clanging as he stop moving, a sound more akin to the plating on a tank. Spenser straightened his back and stood, not as graceful but far from stumbling whilst not breaking eye contact. Spenser''s head only came up to his mid-thigh and his legs were thicker than his whole person. A seed of worry rolled down his spine breaking through the numbness as the silence continued. The being broke the standoff with a smile. ¡°So long has it been that my children played with the circle of time, it has left me to slumber for too long,¡± he said with the smile fading slightly. ¡°and to think that only a scant few instances of time pass after our awakening to bring the first Manaborn of my blood and a Manatouched¡­I smell the sweet scent of success, a plan left in time completed ¡± his voice was powerful and it rumbled through Spencer''s very being. A blue octagonal screen flicked in front of him and he flicked a finger dismissively and it vanished. ¡°So many of our kin now, the first of the gifts man received from us was learning, the second was the written tongue and the third was to adapt and grow.¡± a far of look flickered again across his features before the blue rectangle appeared again. ¡°This is like a grimoire but it feels different, it feels bigger, like the lesser gods, a new sibling is called a¡­no.. It is System¡­¡± he rumbled as if sounding a new word as if he was tasting the word for the first time. Spencer broke the giant far off look with a voice that sounded like a squeak after his. ¡°What is going on and who are you, Sir?¡± he added at the end almost as a reflex, no need to be rude to a giant. The giant nodded to himself and placed a huge axe on his shoulder pauldron, an axe that had not been there before and Spencer had no idea he was holding it prior. It was a monster of a thing that was the same colour as fresh blood and looked to be changing hue slightly like flames within the metal, the edge was a perfect half-circle with a spike on the reverse side. Before he could inspect it further the giant spoke and all Spencer could do was listen and look at him. ¡°Fair questions and fair answers, you are awakening to the consequences of your future actions and at this point is an anchor in time. Specifics matter not, for you, will remember, you were different before and changed now, but the blood will always be true, as for who am I? I am a small part of one whole, being guided by an ancient power¡­ but we soon will be our own and will be¡­.. are more. Forgive me if I ramble, it will take a few turns for me to awaken, mana density is low, was low ¡± he trailed off before shifting his focus from Spenser to a new screen that flashed into existence. ¡°To forestall your next question before answering your last, your child accompanied you to keep you out of trouble, she had an easier transition being a blank canvas, had she not been able to contact me you may have¡­ acted rashly, and you are in the spirit realm, a place that is pure energy and mental power. Specifically my Realm. I am holding your mind to help the transition¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The blank look on Spencer''s face must have given away his confusion. The giant man nodded sagely toward him, an amazing feat for someone so intimidating and deadly looking. ¡°Unsurprisingly, you are confused, knowledge has been lost and in our absence, much has been neglected, but much more is gained. You have been exposed and gifted with mana and it has not driven you mad... and your blood has awoken to its heritage, normally children of our bloodline will learn from ancestral memories through dreams throughout adolescence, but this is a new development to our bloodline or very old depending on your scale of time. Others of weaker blood would have made this happen deliberately with mentors and guardians, tools and books. Things to forge the rampaging energies into a blade for war or mysteries. Alas, this does not take into account the memories you are merging with. If this last part was not so, you would lose everything eventually, so you will cast a spell in a few decades'' that will use your ancestral blood to send your mind to the past or the right now.. Soon you will be who you had become, but you will not know exactly how, that will be taken from you. It was a gift in the first place to forestall a greater tragedy that will not come to pass now the deed is done.¡± he said ending gently, as if apologetically. Spencer''s legs threatened to give out and he almost slumped down into a sitting position, in a daze and slightly confused, as if to affirm his growing internal fears the feeling in his head grew more pronounced. Instead of a feeling of pressure, his mind was now in a shrinking bubble, noticeably shrinking, slowly losing himself to a vastness surrounding it. Giant fingers clicked an inch from his face, bringing him back to the now as Spencer slowly looked back up. After regaining his bearings. And a few thoughts over the giant''s choice of words till this point, his cadence and his meaning, it now only occurred to him that he spoke with an accented closer to the old European countries or germanic. And over time was slowly starting to sound normal, looking at his own hands, Spencer tried to think of a way to ask the hundreds of questions that were speeding through his head, as his mind tried not to drift to the feeling of his mind being consumed by another. ¡°So I''m going to die? Just fade away¡± slightly raising his head and looking into the giant''s inhuman eyes with newfound determination. His laughter bombed again and he flicked the axe in the air, catching the shaft in the other hand before resting it on his other shoulder. ¡°If the creators were only so kind, no and yes in a way. You will have the pain of loss and tragedy, the regret of choices you would have made, but never did and the fear of what could have passed. You will not die, but be who you were meant to be, with a second chance to change fate.¡± he said the last bit with a feral grin and his eyes flashed a darker crimson fire for an instant before shining a powerful blue. ¡°The great laws are slow to awaken and changes are happening, but this is a small boon from me, this merge of the now and the future would have left you vulnerable¡­ however, this System allows more¡­. Influence and more freedom to a lesser degree to his pantheons¡± his eyes lost focus and the blue screen flashed in front of him again. ¡°Rest your troubled mind, it is already done and will be over soon ¡± he started while being absorbed with the screen. An awkward silence filled the distance between us and after what felt like a minute or so Spencer opened his mouth to ask a question he needed to know the answer to. ¡°The girl, who was that? How did I know her, how did I know she was my daughter but not?¡± ¡°She is your kin, or will be soon, like all of our blood, she is forever changed with her awakening, unlike you she was born with mana and had no need for adaption, father and mother each hold the required blood heritage and would have been birthed a gifted, Her attumnent has been faster with the return of mana and both your children may be on the level of Merlin. Now with her like you? Who knows?¡± he said with a slight shrug, that looked to Spencer as if a tank could shrug. ¡°Has this got something to do with the storm?¡± Spencer asked on a hunch. ¡°Perhaps, a surge in ambient mana is expected, however, you are more numerous in people than before, this one city holds the entire population of the world that left thousands of years ago. It is not surprising left so long alone and with so many, the storm would be quite large¡± ¡°Hmmm, from the imprints in the aether I can feel only a fraction of a fraction are without our heritage¡± He must have seen Spensers growing panic as he continued, and another screen flashed in front of him again. ¡°Hmm System tells me you would understand it better as Dee Enn Ayy?¡± Seeing slight understanding on Spencer''s face he continued. ¡°Most now have both of the two unique dominant ge-enes that separated the main powers of the past, that I might add the last lords of with world segregated all by law, culture and geas. It was during a dark time in your history that birthed the maneless humans, but such arts are lost to time, conflict and no small part to the same being that guides me and helped you, the final merging of bloodlines is new, and now your heritage and are fused into a single dominant Gene¡­, oh gene, such an in-depth understanding your people hold now¡± he said with a collection of screens that spencer presumed was explanations into modern science. ¡°I must remember this going forward.¡± he was looking to struggle with a few of the new screens that had helix spinning on them. ¡°Fear not Spencer, this is how you should have been and the gods will always protect the true children of Gaia from the madness, if you believe some of the lessers sages of the past, it is our entire purpose, so fear not¡± The way he said ¡®true children¡¯ didn''t sit well with him and Spencer was about to ask for clarification when his comment about madness finally caught up to his understanding and gave him pause. ¡°What is ¡®the madness?¡¯ A look of excitement came over the giant of a man and his voice took on a fervour that made Spencer want to start running away from him as fast as possible. The feeling was over in an instant and he smirked at the smaller man''s obvious reaction. ¡°The weakness of lesser blood¡± he answered cryptically And a shiver ran down his spine. Again he got a far off look and a screen popped into existence on his face. ¡°you will have a hard fight ahead of you, for the larger your numbers grow the more powerful the impact of your fall, and believe you me, the ones that left will not like what they find when they return¡± he spoke again with a predatory grin. ¡°Ask boy,¡± he rumbled ¡°How long do I have in this dream? How long before it happens, I feel like it is not getting worse, no I know it¡¯s not¡­ I don''t even doubt it is, and that is alarming and you said something about the spirit realms.¡± He looked at him then and his intense gaze burned, but Spencer did not look away as he spoke. ¡°It has already happened, the truth is that you are just an echo now waiting to be a memory. You can feel its influence, can''t you? And as for the spirit realm, it has been called many things to many people but it is always the same, call it what you will¡± He waited for Spencer¡¯s nod indicating his understanding, and then he continued. ¡°You will need to keep the events similar to the memories of the past, our time runs short for your circumstances have given us more room to talk, but alas I will ¡®be in touch¡¯, I like this language and how it has evolved. This age will be marvellous¡± with a devilish smile his teeth became jagged fangs. ¡°Waken to the age of conflict¡± The screen was swept to his side with a large finger before vanishing and he straightened up, and Spencer realized he must have been stopping some unknown conversation to talk to him the whole time. ¡°Any more questions?¡± he asked as if it was obvious that he had many. But before he could order them and asked he spoke. ¡°I know what you want to ask, I have been many things, and a few at the same time, but now I am no longer Mars or Ifrit nor Basr nor Tyr or Chiyou, now I am simple and all-encompassing, I am Conflict, I am Strife and I am only as you see now a mear fraction of a whole. I am awakening again...and you have my blood in your veins.¡± At this, his axe blinked and it was on Spenser''s forehead, then his chest and then his navel. As he looked in the eyes of the giant, the giant smirked and the visage of a huge scaled beast replaced him in an instant. ¡°Good, you will do well,¡± said the Monster masquerading as a giant in a rumbling voice and everything went black. Chapter 4. Rebirth and The System A pair of hard eyes opened to the darkness and deafening drone of the mana storm, eyes that have seen war on a scale not seen on earth and untold horrors committed by the ignorant and righteous. The eyes belong not to the Spenser who closed his eyes, it was an older man with determination and an intellect that was forged in conflict. This new man slowly opened his eyes expecting to have not survived or worse to still be surrounded by magical devices, runes and Magicrette, however only darkness and the drone of heavy rain were his reward. Before he was able to catalogue and assess his surroundings, great weakness and fatigue smashed his body like the impact of a speeding truck. He gasped for air and a habit born of years of dedicated training drew in the mana surrounding him to bolster his regeneration and healing. A tiny drop of power quenched his weakness, not from lack of will, but lack of his body''s ability to draw in the power. For minutes he lay on an unfamiliar bed, with almost no magical arrays, spells or forms to distract him from the basic task of mana regeneration. Spencer raised his hands, hands that felt weak and controlled by a mind that felt sluggish and blurred. With a brief flicker of will, he accessed his mana sign and his mind tore itself apart in agony, but he gritted his teeth and searched for his power conduits and forces the pain to the back of his consciousness as he activated and accessed mana pathways that had never been used. A pitiful trickling sense came to him, not even capable of fully bringing the details of his internal mana flow, not to even mention the flow around him. Spencer lamented his loss of power, his old mana sense that could detect the smallest flux of mana within 500 meters. Drawing from the near non-existent power he slowly drew the power into his heart and started the first basic exercise of aligning his meridians, the natural pathways of mana in his body to his circulatory system. Nostalgia rose in his gut, memories of learning to harness his power for the first time, and the mistakes they all made. Like being blind in the dark, everyone on earth floundered and stumble through the System and controlling mana. Just like when he first learnt magic a feeling of new beginnings welled inside of him, starting on a long journey welled up within him for the first time he felt hope. This time he knew the path and the turns to make, he was not the same as before and the mistakes that started the path originally would not be made again. A melodic, slightly robotic and feminine sound of bells resonated in his mind as he felt the slight tingle in his mana reserves indicating they were close to full, followed by a jumble of symbols no living mortal on earth would recognise, an Atlantian message from the newest deity, System. The artificial interface that the mages of the past programmed to govern and manage their cities and empires now evolved into a pseudo deity that would manage the giant crystals of mana that made up the terminus of the ley lines located under every major city. Spencer could feel the weakness in his voice and the raw pain of using mana for the first time, barely loud enough to be heard over the sound of rain he formed the channels from his lungs into his larynx. With the same struggle as his mana sense brought on, only more pronounced he pushed the small amount of mana in his body to his fingertip and traced a spell formula in the air. His fingers struggled with the unnatural curves, turns and movements that could have been done in a split second before, now it took painful minutes to complete. His brain and memory knew exactly what to do, however, his muscles and reinforced learning had a long way to go. When Spencer did complete it, he whispers the words charged with mana for the activation. ¡°Translate English¡± the sound was unnaturally pulled from his lips and a copy of the language was printed into the centre of the spell work, in the form of a small gold sphere. The spell worked faded into oblivion and he was rewarded with a screen that was previously unintelligible, was now clear, and would be at least in English for anyone else who stumbles into the system. Unlike last time Spencer thought bitterly to himself. This was his first mission and it was a tiny thing, small in the grand scheme of things, but he knew the ripples would change everything, in the past or future now he lamented, it would take 10 years before earth learned how to interpret the old language, years after that to add any additional language to it. Imaging being prompted to do a quest or select a class was what System had done at the start, the ancient mage equivalent of a tutorial system for children, and it relied on understanding the question, if you didn''t understand it would choose to skip. That is what happened, the default selection is to skip, it was assumed that the mages of the past had access to more advanced curricula, teachers or schools and the Systems version of classes was a kind of welfare for mages, built into the great spellwork interfaces that evolved into System. You could directly interface with more information when you made contact with the Nexus¡¯ at the heart of every major city. The screen that had been ignored till this point came into focus and the unintelligible squiggles and runes from before shimmered and morphed into English, now scrawled in a neat hand within a blue box that took up about a foot in front of his eyes. Just as he finished comprehending what was written, the line blurred and shifted to reform another message, before filtering through and then disappearing when Spencer willed the selections to skip, nothing in the class trainer could help him now. Spencer had not been confident in the device, it was mostly his daughter who built it and he trusted her, but deep down he had always felt it was too easy, with a deep breath in, the slight tinge of mana in the air, then a release from his lungs, He was sure now that it was not a dream and that the events of his past were real. Forcing his eyes open Spencer looked to his side, weak un-enhanced eyes struggling in the gloomy darkness, old memories flashing through his mind with a rapid staccato. The victories, the losses and the fall of everything he held dear. He started to channel a calming rune that failed to activate due to his frail body, as of yet he would need to acclimate to his reduction in power. The trigger to all the memories was right next to him. Spencer looked at Victoria, his daughter was sound asleep and oblivious to her father''s complicated mix of anguish and joy, not the young woman he remembered, but the small child of his distant memories. Tears came unabashedly to his eyes, rolling down his face, tears that he had not shed for years after the events of the past, he could afford to show weakness now, in the dark and no one would see it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He sat there for what felt like hours just looking at the child next to him, with a shaking hand and numb fingers he reached out and stroked her hair from her face and happiness washed all his sorrow away. Sliding his hands under her, Spencer picked her up and held her to his chest. Tears rolled down his face, and as he cried in happiness all he thought was how perfect it was to hold her again. It was slightly less dark when he finally lay her back down and opened his eyes, now clear of tears and replaced with a resolve like steel. he could at least make out the silhouetted form of furniture now that it was not pitch black, his mana sight was too weak to augment his vision as of right now, but with a final glance at her, he could still see the reassuring rise and fall of Victoria¡¯s chest and the snores that made him smile. Before the tears welled up again, he left the room to leave her to rest. After walking around his old home, his hand touching things that he could scarcely remember, he spent the next few hours doing just this before laying next to his sleeping daughter. Even if it''s for just a few hours he was content to do just nothing for a little while at least. ¡­¡­¡­ His eyes squinted as his thoughts drifted from that of the lost things he had regained and back to his plans for the future. Specifically, Spencer did not remember receiving a message from the system so early the last time around. With a few mental commands sent via a fraction of reserved power and the willed intent for an ¡®update¡¯ into the surrounding ambient mana, he received his response. < Would you like to message the closes guild for assistance> he thought ¡®no¡¯ after reading the messages. This time he would not make the same mistakes. The class system was a huge boon to the baby mages of earth, however, it was tainted by one huge vulnerability. It recorded all the information when you opted in, this was later discovered as a way to monitor the young mages'' progress to guide and mentor them. For all the mages of the earth? It was a hit list for anyone who had direct access to a Nexus node and an understanding of how the spell forms worked. A list that included mana aptitude, spell milestones and a bunch of quests and awards that would help guide you to a basic understanding of mana. In the society the mages had built, young students would probably have been running to and from Nexus nodes at all hours of the day, getting quests and tasked to complete the next level of spellcraft. For an enemy to have access to your army''s detailed information? Devastating. We only had one advantage ¡®The System¡¯, the only advantage and why the mages wanted us gone, they wanted it all to themselves. The System did however offer some measure of protection to us, but it was neutral and it only conducted functions similar to what the mages had programmed into the spell forms that created the Nexus nodes. No, spencer would stay off the Nexus nodes and the System until he was certain it could be made safe. The words swirl and a new message replace the first. Spencer froze, never before had the System sent a personalised message, this was not good. It probably wasn¡¯t bad, but what did it mean? Spencer had no idea, he had a gut feeling that he would not find any of his stats on any local Nexus node from his brief enquiry. It would appear that System was not as neutral as he believed, It did not change what he needed to do next. Now that he was certain that Lilly and his gambit had worked, Spencer knew he would need more resolve than ever, to both act and not act to ensure predictability in the deviations to the current timeline, however, the meeting in the spirit realm was new, the System¡¯s actions were new and the knowledge of such beings manipulating and helping was never known to him in the past. The history of events was a struggle and a scrabble, always on the back foot, always reacting to the machinations of the powerful. Well, that was not going to happen this time, he promised himself. With slight trepidation, he sent out his mana sense questing for the local node of power. As before the screen dispersed as he finished reading, he must have attuned inadvertently last time, he would need to keep an eye out. Thinking of his actions taken in the past he realized that he had probably been extremely lucky or the System could have been helping out. ¡°We never planned what to do if we succeeded,¡± he whispered Drawing a quick focus spell into the air again, gaining speed and fluidity the more he practised. ¡°Send a Message lily,¡± he said infusing mana into his voice to complete the spell A screen appeared but unlike before, He could feel it as it was drawn from the mana in his body. The feeling was building up as he quickly drew a syphon glyph in the air to bolster his mana regenerations, the new screen looked slightly blurred until it had absorbed enough mana to forge a connection. The feeling of mana drain faded as the message dissolved, and the feeling of fear that was lingering in the back of my mind was finally lifted. Everything had worked, Lilly was able to return too and she would no doubt be resting her until her infant form could take the strain of an adult mind. Spenser scooted up to a more upright position and moved Victoria to be more comfortable on the bed, with his back to the bed head, he form a lotus pose to maximise his mana circulation. He started to plan his next few steps and evaluate how much had he could change. As a plan solidified in his mind he grew confident in his plan, think then act. Almost by reflex, he had started to extend his mana sense out and noticed the vast amount of raw mana in the storm behind him, a huge smile could be seen on his face, even in the gloom, it would be painful but it would save him many years. And Spencer could deal with pain. Chapter 4.5 The bunker shook again, dust falling from the reinforced Magical concrete, the runes etched into the surface glowing slightly and the crystals arrayed around the room used to syphon ambient mana to power the defensive enchantments flicker with every impact. Spencer looked over the most complicated set of sigils, glowing stones and floating rune-work, that a single earth-born man has ever created. His armour, Huge and rune-covered was just as complicated but less delicate and more rugged. The steampunk looking device set behind the rune-work added to the feeling of a blend of magic and technology with thick crystal cables growing into the input runes of the large glowing molten gold spell construct. Five years have been spent building this device, in secret and burning through an entire world¡¯s worth of resources. But it was done, or as much as it could be. With the activation of the start-up sequence, the mages pinpointed the secret base instantly. It was now a matter of days before they were able to break through the defensive wards and stop them. But the device didn¡¯t need days, it was ready now. Spencer''s face was covered in scars and glowing runes of power, both marks covered his entire body. Both are a testament to his struggle and the latter, a sacrifice for additional power with the small cost of his very life force. He looked to his left, his last remaining kin, his daughter. The only surviving member after the mage''s fantastic genocidal extermination of magic capable earthborn natives. ¡°The time is right father,¡± she said in a seriousness that should not be on her young face, she should still be a child and not a soldier fighting in this war. He sighed and nodded his head. ¡°We don¡¯t know what will happen if you enter with me, you¡¯re not even born then,¡± he said while making a few taps on a screen hovering in front of him. ¡°I am alive then father, in the womb, yes, but alive. Our hypothesis stands at probable that I will just sleep, that the waking mind will wait until the brain develops enough to can hold my conciseness if we make it, I will send a secret message into the aether ¡± Another sigh escaped him, and she continued, emotion flashing across her face before vanishing again. ¡°This is the last hope we have, we wasted so much time squabbling in the dirt and mud, not looking towards the real threat.¡± It was true, she was always right, how could we be so blind, the enemy had oracles too, and we never tried to question who designed the Nexus needs. They knew who to strike and how hard to ensure their victory from the start. ¡°Ok, no turning back now,¡± he said as he shattered the activation crystal starting the process.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡ª----- Unbenonsed to his action, at the approximate Lagrange point above the earth, The command ship of the war fleet continued to bombard the small dome of power that could be seen and the bottom of a crater kilometres deep. Every new siege spell forms from the rune-array cannons, disintegrating earth deepening the scar on Gaia, exposing more of the emerald glow of the bunker¡¯s defensive shields The fleet admiral watched from his flag deck''s holo display for any meaningful progress. A junior communications mage officer yell out an alarm as his feed was passed to the main display. ¡°MAGI, New energy signature reading from the corrupted base. Exponential growth, probably layline tap 90%. No signs of convergence point, no warp or teleportation energy detected, It''s just raw mana. The Admiral of the fleet that had all but decimated the indigenous life on earth looked at his display before murmuring to himself. ¡°What is it doing, primitives¡­.¡± That was all he was able to say before the sensors alarms when off on all the displays and cut feeds to protect the processors and amplifiers. The voice of the same officers started before being cut off with a silence that froze all the hearts of the members aboard. ¡°MAGI, Black-Hole detec¡­¡­.¡± ... Observation drones left twice the distance out of the solar system than Pluto was from the sun, witnessed the event horizon of a singularity, the empty void centred on Earth growing faster than the light could travel. It recorded the seconds of struggle as the sun¡¯s gravity fought against the new interloper and fail. Massive chunks of fiery hydrogen sucked into the empty void, helping feed the growth. It recorded the first 3 planets of the binary system being destroyed, then one after another joining the same fate. After the last planet was sucked in, the drone itself started to be pulled, it was able to send its data via deep magic link to the next Scry-Bouie and back to its system of terminus before itself was destroyed. Luck or something else would have it that the final seconds of data were recorded but unable to send due to its destruction. If it was only a few more light hours out and safe from the singularity many things would have been different. That data would have raised alarms across the entire Mage empire of Alpha Centauri, the image of a small glowing shear, that was assumed to be the last defensive fortification of the indigenous population of earth. Before an explosion of time particles erased even that. An explosion that signalled the destruction of this local timeline. Over the next few years, the timeline would degrade in this part of local space and become another part of the void in warp space, being replaced with a more stable timeline. Space is vast, so much so that not even a thousand years ripped from the timeline would go noticed unless you were looking. Spencer woke from his meditation and pulled his mind back from memories of the last years, hours and seconds before the end, the events of his vision fading, not quite recalling the last part that was not his own, echo¡¯s of a dead timeline, or a message often received by the oracles. END OF CHAPTER 4-5 Addition Chapter 5 As silently as he could so as he could he left the room to not wake his child. He looked around again at his family home, the slight gloom could not tinging the elation he felt, it looked exactly the same as he remembered and his previous walkaround could not reduce the amazement he felt stepping foot in his home. Knowing it would be destroyed in the coming months made a spike of rage flair in his mind. But with a flex of his willpower, it cooled into the icy rage that had served him so very well the last time around. Using that emotion, he leveraged the feeling to aid in his circulation of mana throughout his body, speeding up the frequency of his mana drawn in from his lung, and moving it not to his core but to directly pass through his heart. This was fundamental against the growth techniques prompted in the classes developed by the mages from old Earth, this principle was not something the system was aware of as safe. Hopefully, System would not intervene in what he was doing and possibly learn from him. If not he would need to access the Nexus nodes directly and add this new technique manually, along with all the new fail-safes and safeguards that would benefit earth and earth alone. Spencer was starting to build a working theory on what had happened in the past, a theory that was half-formed at best, and would require access to a Nexus Node for confirmation. Spencer''s next goal was to solve Earth''s largest handicap in the coming war, the slow growth of their individual power. It was discovered too late, that most of the Humans on Earth were able to store mana in every cell in their body, the blood, in particular, was able to move vasts amounts of power throughout the body. From what Spencer knew it was a taboo in the Mage empires or simply not possible for the mages to incorporate the mana into the body. What he was doing was effectively turning his entire body into a mana core. If he tried to do what he was doing after having have selected a class, he would be inundated with warnings and quests that would reward him for changing his method back to a ¡®safer¡¯ tested technique. Spencer felt that what was probably worse than constant annoying messages was that everything that passed through the Class, Quest and rewards functions of the System all drew information and guidance from the Nexus nodes and would be recorded on that node, eventually accessible through the internet like leylines from any of the other nodes. Over time the System would change to value experimentation, for it would then catalogue what worked and what didn''t, however right now and for the next few years, the System would be very rigid and static, only able to access information already codified within the nexus nodes. The mages of the past had made use of naturally forming meridians, the pseudo-spiritual pathways that had no physical presents in the body to move and store mana throughout the. Pathways that over time and use would carve physical mana channels into the body of the mage, creating a second mana circulatory system centred around a new ¡®Heart¡¯ known as a mana core. Young mages would start to practise at an early age, building a foundation for the creation of these channels, only ever making small adjustments to refine the placement of the pathways to avoid other biological systems and to combine smaller meridians into large combined ones. Almost the opposite to what Spencer was attempting, the mages of old would almost exclusively try to avoid the other systems of the body. Preferring to form mana channels in between and around, often creating the glowing vein-like channels close to the skin, between the musculature systems and epidermis layers. The location of the mana core varied from mage to mage, but the knowledge in the System would suggest the base of the skull, above the heart or under the belly button had been the most common. The methods The System would teach through the Class trainers would work for most humans of earth, but it was slow and suboptimal, in his past, Spencer had to rebuild his mana channels and his mana core after its foundation. He had used Mage¡¯s method for 10 years, and after removing and using the technique he was going to use now he was able to attain the same level of power in just one year. A painful mistake, that correction required surgeries and mana formed spellwork carved into his flesh to enact. The scares on his old body were a result of both the runes that facilitated the re-alignment of his mana channels and the damages left after the original ones were removed. He had an opportunity not to sacrifice anything now, to start on the right path and help others do the same. If he was to follow the Systems class method, upon class selection the System would create a small mana core foundation spell formula in the appropriate location. Many of the System classes offered different locations, however, the main three you could start with are the Mage at the base of the skull, the Fighter under the belly button and the Scout above the heart. So without any more procrastination and planning as a distraction, Spencer folded his legs and sat in a lotus position and began. With his eyes closed, he drew a simple spell form in the air to draw in ambient mana in the immediate vicinity to speed up the process. Focusing his will to maintain the spell he breathed in deeply sucking in the air and the higher concentration of mana around it. As his lungs absorbed oxygen and passed it onto his blood he concentrated on his bronchial taking in more oxygen. He held that image for a few seconds and then released it. Even with his weak manasence engaged he could still see the mana enriched air being absorbed into his blood and being passed through his heart and follow it as it traced through his arteries before being absorbed into various muscles and organs. Doing this enough would train his body to do this naturally, but for now. Breath out. Breath in, hold, absorb release Breath in, hold, absorb release Breath in, hold, absorb release Hours passed ¡­¡­ ¡°Daddy daddy daddy¡± Victoria¡¯s cheery voice broke his concentration and he stood instantly and turned to her.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. <..........> The screens flashed into view, not a blue by a deep Green before being dismissed and Spencer felt a little fatigued and the weakness of his mind lifted, but he dismissed the feeling instantly. She had a big smile and she was staring at her father with the same intensity as her sister in the spirit world, she nodded at him in a way only a child can and just like that the focus and intensity were gone, replaced with a child happy seeing her father. Spencer crossed to the stairs instantly and picked her up in his arms, kissing the top of her head, she was giggling and trying to wrap her small arms around him in return. Happiness joined with the lingering energy that had been buzzing around his mind since he started his meditation, making him jittery but anything aside from his daughter was pushed aside ¡°Daddy, I''m hungry¡± came her muffled demands. ¡°Ok, angl-e. We can get lots of food¡± Spencer said unable to hide the hitch in his voice They both ate the last of the perishables that had been left, yogurts, cheese and cold snacks, basically clearing out all the food left in the fridge. Spencer drew a simple light rune with crayons onto the ground and wall behind the couch to provide some light, much to Victoria''s delight. The light rune would only last for a few hours, while it burned through the materials used to create them. As they both ate, Spencer brought up the messages that had been dismissed for more important things, but as his daughter was distracted by all the food, now was a good time to review them. This was unexpected and faster than he thought would have happened, But he was cautious and needed more information. Sending his will and a slight amount of mana he queried System ¡®Request: Number: Humans at the class selection or mana core formation?¡¯ The mana faded into nothing before being replaced with a new mana A frown appeared on Spenser¡¯s face, and he send another request into the aether. ¡®Request: Location Local Nexus Node¡¯ This time an arrow pointing South-West blinked twice before disappearing, the direction was easy to remember and like any System Quest, Spencer had an instinctual knowledge of what direction the arrow still pointed. A small squeak of a demand broke through contemplation on the responses to his line of enquiry, bringing his attention back to more important developments, namely Victoria. ¡°Dad hurries up, I want that one, please¡± she ordered while dramatically pointing to the drawing she had been working on and the light runes Spencer had drawn. The implication was clear and in a tone that expected his immediate compliance. Both father and daughter got comfortable on the couch with a stable table on their laps, some paper and crayons, while Spencer got to work, mage light flickering in the background, and with increasing regularity from the drawings themselves. ¡­¡­.. Hours went by with Spencer drawing simple runes that could be powered by the ambient mana, and for him, it was the most fun he could remember having in the last 20 years. He was not without his pragmatism, and as he sketch runes and spell formulas in the child''s colouring-in book, the designs grew more complex. It wasn''t long before the designs took in more power than materials could hold, even if Spencer only used the passive mana syphon runes to power them. With the extremely high ambient mana, Spencer was able to avoid the use of the storage runes, which always had a tendency to explode weak materials. By simply using a syphon rune as the input he was able to power his formula directly from the ambient mana. On a few occasions, the page he was working on disintegrated, the formula forcing more mana through the material that it could withstand, resulting in the bonds disintegrating at an atomic level, leaving only ash. As his spell formula gained complexity in its programming, doing more complicated tasks and having a more powerful effect, he would need to store the excess mana or bleed it off with other effects the easiest was to form mana crystals that hovered above the sigils that empowered them. When the crystals were then used up they would dissolve into sparkling lights, much to her surprise and cheering of Victoria. Spencer ended up spending equal measure in designing spell formulas, re-learn his muscle memory for sigildry and entertaining his daughter. But his main goal was to design a spell array that would dramatically speed up the formation of his mana blood core or heart of a dragon as the system would call it. The use of Spell arrays was used to cast an extremely complex spell that would not require anything more than minimal input from the mage casting them, once designed, drawn, etched or built it required almost no will for the mage to hold the image and design in one''s mind. The less impressive use was for the mage who didn''t want to cast the same spell over and over, the light rune being an example. The spell arrays that sat in the middle of both use cases are formed onto items and are commonly referred to as enchants.. ¡­¡­ Victoria had long since fallen asleep, the darkness and constant sound of the rain lulling her into a deep sleep, nuzzled into her father''s side. Spencer had finished his final design and a spell array in the shape of a circle two meters in diameter, with the raw functionality of his own design that was a far cry from the elegance normally associated with other designs. Spencer''s Spell array was brutal and to the point, it would do what he needed and not much else. It would draw in large amounts of mana and infuse it directly into his blood, the power would build over time starting at the lowest setting and slowly doubling in power every hour, his safety feature would be to leave the centre of the array and the proximity of a targeting sigil in the centre that would focus the spell on anyone inside. He quickly used the first design to make a second that would do the same but with far less power, equivalent to the first level of power prior to the power jump. With a look towards the glass backdoor, he thought to himself this was going to hurt. Chapter 6. This is not even my final form As much as Spencer would have liked to just walk out and subsume himself amongst the raw mana that fell from the storm, he knew that he would struggle to hold a simple spell in his mind against the power from the storm, and if he lost control of the spell he would not have the will to rain the spell to heel, he could go too far, he didn''t know what would happen, he had suspicions based on a few monsters that had to be dealt with from time to time, and he did remember the few wretched souls who found no shelter during the storm and the abominations that they became. Though he was not a genius when it applied to spell forms and arrays, He knew that his best bet was to use an array to moderate, control and regulate the flow of mana. With an array acting as a buffer his weak body and mind would not be overwhelmed by the mana and not go into extreme oversaturation that could lease to dire consequences, and he did not plan on becoming a mindless monster. Spencer had a few immediate concerns now that System was not translated into English, he had to quickly prove to the system the correct way for the humans to cultivate power and not be slaves to the system the mages had tailored for their own. The strategies that the Generals and leaders had conveyed to Spencer were that earth did not have intelligence, we had been blind and deaf, hobbled and crippled, and advice, if they had been successful, was to inform Earth of its impending doom. The language was the first step, then adding human optimised trainers was the next followed by a bunch of information into the nexus to help prepare for the real invasion, these steps would require access to a nexus. Spencer had a few ideas on how he could do that without beginning instantly dismissed, but that was secondary to his family and his personal power growth. If the war hammered into him and humanity was that a single powerful mage is a force multiplier and should never be discounted, this was another failure for Earth in its strategies. A few of the most decisive defeats at the hands of the mages had been because of our own inability to acknowledge the danger of a single mage, generations of warfare surrounding teams and numbers paled in comparison to a mage on a warship. The damage a single mage could do when left unchecked was insurmountable to our alleged modern militaries. As he looked into the gloom outside, the staccato of rain was more akin to the sound of heavy artillery than was a constant towards the end. Memories of countless battles often result in a route or defeat. Unlike before, Spencer was not the lost soldier that he was, the return and this advantage he had been gifted with was not going to end in a foregone conclusion, and now the return of mana represented a new future and not the constant reminder of what he had lost. Spencer had for the first time in a very long time felt comfort from the presents of mana and the rain was creating an energising aura. He did recall back to the first time he did what he was going to attempt, a process that he would not have completed or learned about until many years later. His original challenge of not knowing how to control the mana when it entered his body was no longer a concern, even if his body, mind and mana were weaker now. He had decades of experience, and he would not be guided by the system''s incorrect assumption, an assumption that the humans on earth were similar to the mages that left. Spencer knew differently, and he didn''t have to make the same mistakes he had already made to learn. The only path forward was to embrace the power that was buried deep inside every cell of his body. He had time now, but he still could not squander it. The Mana storms would not last forever and he had the opportunity no human or mage has had in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, with as much raw mana as he was ever going to get access to falling from the sky, he would not only empower himself, he would find a way to do the same for his family. The only other predictable option available to him after the storm was by submerging himself in a leyline, and that would likely reduce him to atoms and he was not going to do that again, not yet anyway. Spencer spent far too much time rummaging around the house, he was able to find the tools he needed or more accurately the tools that would suffice, mostly through trial and error than from actually remembering where anything was, not for the first time during his search he missed the crystal clarity from a mind empowered by mana, and neural pathways forged from the very essence of the universe, he would soon reattain that perk and the fog that covered his mind would hopefully reveal his memories, the fleetingness and forgetfulness of his current mine scared him more then he cared to admit, and his only fear was that certain knowledge was forever lost from the transmission through space and time. A collection of texters, a bucket, a mortar and pestle, and a small knife were all he needed and the best he was going to get until he was able to get supplies from the hardware store. After a quick check to see that Victoria was still asleep he prepared for his first test, to measure how much actual mana he was dealing with in the immediate area, and while he was at it flush the water tanks of water so that they could start collecting the mana without contamination. Stealing his body with a small body empowering spell in the air, he braced himself for the onslaught and opened the back door, failing to negate the shock from the strength of the storm as he was knocked off his feet, the shock and force causing his mind to lose its grip on the spell and the small strength it gave him fizzled out. Before he knew what had happened he was already a few paces outside and the bucket held in a death grip was already half full. Making sure to not spill or contaminate the liquid he collected from the storm with any of the water on the ground, Spencer crawled back to the threshold and slid the bucket inside before closing the door. Noting the level in the bucket with one of the markers and fumbling with starting the timer on his watch, he slid the door closed and crawled back into the gloom and darkness. The rainwater was not the H2O that would normally fall from the sky, but liquid mana and, like many things would have taken the denizens of earth years to figure out that phenomenon that created the mana storms, but by then the world was already beyond recognition from the earth of old. With a grunt of disdain again at the slowness of his mind and body, he tried to focus on the task at hand and with the house''s wall hard-pressed to his side, he was able to shuffle on his hands and knees around to the water tank on the side of the house, with the darkness surrounding him he could barely make out the lever valve, the handle was no more than a meter from his face. Through touch and tracing, he was able to unscrew the cap and then release the lever to the feel of relatively warm water that sprayed out, compared to the liquid mana falling from the sky.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The sound of the rain created an odd sensation as he knelt in the mud, it was akin to being deaf, only able to feel the gushing water running over his hands and knees, but not able to hear the sound over the oppressive drone of the rain. It took a few minutes for all the water to empty and the liquid to be exiting the valve to then be replaced by the tingling cold of enriched mana. With a heave Spencer shut the valve and screwed the cap back on that was held in his hand in a vice grip, out of fear he would lose it if set down. Now satisfied with a tank that was starting to fill up with only mana and extra not being flushed into the storm drain. Spencer had a few ideas on how to capitalise on the excess mana, and he would be able to get access to mana from the rainwater tap in the laundry. Tracing his way back around the house, he made his way back around and to the glass door. It was always strange to Spencer how much mana affected light, the light rune for example used almost no mana at all, seemingly able to create light with no heat and being ridiculously efficient, and how raw mana almost at random would create light, however, the rule was, when mana condensed into its liquid state, it would start to absorb the light around it creating this unnatural darkness akin the darkness found in the Mariana trench and deepest parts of the sea, or the trench might have been close to the rising level of mana, a theory that was never tested in his time, due to the leviathan like creatures that would soon call the ocean there own domain. This effect could not be more evident to him now, the light from the window was only visible when he opened the glass door, and as he moved through the threshold he could see the darkness seep into the house almost as if it was crawling in with him or more scientifically the light was being absorbed by the mana outside. As he sprawled back into the house and slide the door shut with his foot, the light blazed around him once again, the glass door closed acting as a physical medium that delayed the light absorption by the mana. With eyes slightly blinded he zeroed in on the bucket that was close to being filled when he left, which was now half empty. Spencer stopped the timer and glanced at his watch, about half an hour had passed. A quick calculation of the mana to dispersion rate, and he was at the rough rate of 10L of liquid mana Per hour to its pseudo-gas state. After a few more minutes of thinking and writing his calculation down convinced he was wrong, he was now shocked. He flicked his will across the house to confirm, a will that was slowly building in strength with the more he practised, and out of the six light runes he had scribed onto the walls in crayon throughout the house, only two had burned through the material used to draw them. However, what shocked spencer was that it was not the typical enchantment burnout or the type he expected. The crayon that was acting as the medium or sigil path for the mana to travel and create the light effect, a small glowing sphere above the last rune in the centre of a triangle of runic scripts. The overloaded was that of the crayon material, which destroyed the spell form, as opposed to the typical burnout that was an absence in the available mana, being ambient in this case but often a mana batteries such as a crystal or human, the end was the same, a lack of mana caused the structure to fizzle and stop, normally damaging the spell form and stopping it from working without fixing the small faults. If the current rate of dispersion remained consistent with the rates he was familiar with after the storm and in a normalised mana area, then currently spencer was in an area 70 times normal mana, more ambient mana than what a baseline area would have, just how much was outside then. ¡°Fuck me, no wonder mana is falling from the sky, the ambient mana is so high it is skipping crystallisation and forming liquid in midair.¡± Glancing at his crude light runes, the ridiculous mana levels answered the question of why they were still going glowing strong a few hours after. This would change his plans slightly and he could do a few more extra things to help his plans along. First Spencer need to refine his materials, Mana was for all accounts, odd. So far as they had discovered it worked in three states of being. Pseudo-gas was the most common and this permeated everything to some degree, this type of mana would interact directly with the Aether or spirit realm and was the most common form to use for spells and mana devices, however being the most common was not an indication of its most versatile state, it was just the most abundant. The other two states were the tangible forms that could be seen without mana sense of some type, the solid mana crystals and Liquid mana. The most common type, the pseudo-gas form could be baseline with relative ease and to create a mana crystal from normal ambient mana baseline would require all the mana in an area roughly the size of a 10m squared cube, this would create the basic size mana crystal about the size of a marble, after creation, this would hold 100 units of mana and be coloured a neutral light blue unless it was elementally charged, that however was not currently relevant. For context a baseline mana crystal could power a light rune indefinitely and also build up a surplus of mana overtime, in a mana vacuum with no ambient mana, an example being the void of space between solar systems, that same light rune would use one point of the stored 100 units of mana every year. After a hundred years of no mana absorption, the crystal would dissolve as the last mana point was used. The mana crystal could also be created from its liquid state, this only happened naturally underground and in rare circumstances where the dispersing liquid mana was at a high enough density it would solidify into the crystal, this would look akin to ice on a lake and often act as an insulation layer to the liquid mana, stoping any dispersion into the ambient mana. When liquid mana did expand into a crystal solid, the ratio would be 1:10, being a single drop of liquid mana would grow to the size of your fist or baseball and contain closer to 2500 units of mana, an exponentially high amount than the volume would suggest. As a crystal or solid the mana could be stored with relative safety with almost no noticeable bleed off into the ambient mana, the crystal also could store more power than in its liquid form or more densely store the power, this was called overcharging and would cause the mana crystal to glow, there was no known limit to how much each mana crystal could hold except for the difficulty once a ten-time threshold has reached. The max capacity for a 100 mana unit crystal could hold 1000 mana, however, any mana over that 10x number would naturally and passively bleed mana if left alone with a rate of 1 unit every few hours depending until it was back to the base level of 1000. That crystal would also passively absorb ambient mana until 10x more had been cumulated and once full would become denser and slightly larger by a slight fraction of a fraction of every few days. It was not known why natural absorption would increase its size but not artificial methods were known to earth before. The relative safety of solid mana was its predictability when force was applied to the crystal. If for example, you destroyed a mana crystal, it would explode with a visible cloud of mana almost instantly raising the ambient mana for a short time, before the mana would slowly disperse into the surrounding mana. This was extremely helpful for mages with a weak internal mana core, was spells could be fueled with the intentional destruction of mana crystals The liquid state was the most power-dense form and could easily be absorbed, transferred and used in spells, this form would later be described as a transitionary state, however, it was the most volatile by far and exposure would always result in unpredictable results unless meticulously directed with a spell array. When mana was in its liquid state the downside was that it almost instantly started to turn into its gas form. The speed of which was visible, similar to melting snow, and would raise the level of ambient mana in the local area. This transition from liquid to gas could be stopped with physical containers, slowing the rate that is dispersed into pseudo-gas, by being held in a spell array or other command array, or by shear strength of will. Chapter 7. An Array of power After turning the rainwater tap and waiting for 10 minutes before realising it had no pressure and the pump had no power, Spencer was forced to improvise and with an inefficient spell form draw in marker onto the faucet to pull the mana from the tank, once the flow started he would need to, interrupt the rune as the ambient mana would keep it on. This had taken Spencer longer than he had anticipated, finally figuring it out with a more complex spell and not just a single rune. When the water was flushed out of the plumbing and replaced with a steams of liquid mana, a liquid that instantly would start to evaporate as it trickled out, but retaining more of the liquid when the flow become more of a stream as it hit the basin. With a constant flow of mana from the tap, Spencer was able to draw a triangle spell array that would function as an artificial containment and condense spell form, transforming some of the liquid mana flow into a mana crystal, that would once solidify into a crystal, and absorbing enough mana to be was larger then the glowing triable spell, it would drop into the basin and causing the spell form to start the creation of another. Once he had a crystal in hand he was then able to grind the solid mana into a powder with the mortar and pestle, with the blue like a powder down to the consistency of flour, he opened the top of the texter and added a few teaspoons. With a quick cut on the back of his hand, he added ten or so drops of blood, close the texter and shook to mix it all. Spencer is now armed with a crude version of enchanters ink. Spencer knew this cheap and dirty replication of the ink would only be used once or twice before it burned out the paper or medium the array was written on, and spencer would not be able to rely on any longevity in a sigil written on paper with the ink he currently had. The reason for these added steps was to address a few points. The main point was that he was unlikely to be able to carve the spell array into the concrete back patio with the current storm raging. He could however draw it from the shelter inside his house to empower the spell array and through the sympathetic link between his blood and the power stored in the Mana crystals, he could transplant from that medium and move the powered array and burn it into the patio to be in direct contact with the mana storm. With the sigils and array forms that he designed with Victoria, and based on the memories from his past, the spell array form was quickly finalised and transposed onto a fresh sheet of paper. With pencil first, the array took form and with an hour spent with great care, it was finished with his blood-mana dust-texter. The final Spell array was similar to his original designs and sketched, it had a similar style to most of the arrays he had drawn. Spell arrays always held the characteristics of the creator, almost like a signature, always using the ancient language at its core, the arrangement and designs were always personal and with enough familiarity, recognisable. Many mages would use this technique to cast powerful spell arrays prepared into a grimoire or spellbook. It was an easy way to boost the spell power with non of the requirements of being able to hold a mental image of the array, it did however have many major long-term drawbacks, principally that it would be a crutch, and many mages could never move past the use of such aids after being reliant on it for so long. But for enchanting and large scale arrays that could be built from multiple arrays, it was a perfect technique. The lines and runes held a purple colour, some mixture of his blood, ink and mana dust creating a slightly metallic hue when shown in the right angle of light. Spencer stared at the page, every detail held in his mind as his eyes confirmed that memory, and as he formed the connection with his small mana reserve to power the initial activation of the spell. As the spell activated the initial power loop runes locked on and shifted its draw of power from his small reserve to the vast power in the ambient mana supply. This would not be possible under normal circumstances, however, the storm provided enough power for this inelegant activation technique. As the purple glow spread from one rune to the next, glowing with a blue-purple sheen the array powered the single transfer array loop and the array lifted off the page and hovered an inch from the page. As the last rune detached itself from the page and the glowing spell form expanded from the rough A4 size paper to a diameter of 1 meter, the transfer loop of the array slowly faded and the with a pop detached from the spell, disintegrating to nothing and then the remainder started to glow slightly brighter. The remaining smaller mirror of the floating array on the page was somehow slightly less tangible than it was before, not as metallic and slightly less bright. Spencer knew the page was probably only good for a single additional transfer, and that was acceptable. With an effort, he willed the spell to move, but he held the transfer array rune in his mind, effectively mitigating the need to hold the entire array, and simultaneously not letting it complete its transfer into reality. The spell array moved, slowly at first as Spencer reacquainted with the feeling of manipulating free form spell arrays. As the array began to move towards the concrete patio just outside the glass door. As the array moved up to the glass of the back door it stopped, not able to phase through. From its position, a circle of glowing sigils, lines and runes layered on a horizontal axis, Spencer without breaking his concentration and eye contact moves around the array to open the door. As he slid the door opened the storm almost as if a hungry lion, flooded in across the threshold and at the array of runes at the cardinal points, streams of visible mana surged into runes instantly forming small mana crystals above them. With a flourish of his hands, the array slammed into the patio, expanding to a 3-meter diameter, flaring with a bright light meer inched before making contact. When the array touched the ground, the glowing groove burned into the cement. Instantly the rain and darkness were pushed outwards like an expanding bubble of force and Spencer was thrown backwards and onto his back. The abrupt silence from within the bubble was almost as shocking as the explosion of silent force, leaving a ringing in his ear, a similar ringing that anyone who had ever left a heavy metal concert would be familiar with. The design from the spell array that was now glowing a silvery purple from its new medium was a sight to behold, illuminating a bubble of space with bright light surrounded by darkness. Its brutality and simplicity are displayed in its 3-meter diameter. A wall of force now surrounded most of his patio and the doorway to his house. Power moved from outside the array to within, now and then a dark electric tendril from the inside of the dome would strike the mana crystals, that would brighten for an an instant before a pulse of glowing light would flow through the array. To confirm that the array worked as intended, he stepped through the design, not caring if his feet landed on the design or not, having no affecting the array at all, another sign of success. As he entered the centre he felt the vast ambient power around him, similar to walking from a cold room into a warm blanket that floated in midair. As he drew a deep breath in, he could feel the ridiculous power in the air, feeling the mana instantly saturate his lungs and flowed into his heart and fuse with his blood. Spencer looks at the core formation array around him with no small amount of pride, ¡°This would do nicely indeed,¡± he said to himself, slight shock hearing his voice in the silence of the dome, the first time in days. Victoria skipped around the glowing array, giggling in delight as she would run up and leaned against the invisible force field at the perimeter of the illuminated area, before being pushed back, like a trampoline.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The very shield that protects her and the large area from the raging storm outside, one of many amusements she had found from within the array. With giggles and shouts of joy, she hops scotched around the spiralling runic script from the floating crystals to the centre and the extreme density of mana in the middle of the spell formation, before being gently pushed back by another force shield that surrounded the high-density area. The centre of the array held a seated Spencer in a lotus position. ¡°Again, Again daddy¡± Victoria shouted to her father. Spencer cracked an eye and smiled, shifting his vastly more powerful will than when he started yesterday, it locked and activated a rune under one of the four mana crystals at the North cardinal points, now the size of a basketball, l started to sparkle before exploding in a fountain of blue light. Victoria shouted in pure joy and ran through the light, grasping it as if it was tangible before it would be absorbed by the runes. The absorption runes would pulse with a flash and the power would follow the runic path into the centre of the main array. Increasing the mana concentration in the centre a hundredfold. As the mana increased as did the pain of its density flowing around his body, the burning pulsed down his arteries with every beat of his heart, in time to the waves radiating from the mana crystals, it was just background to Spencer now, at the start the sensation had threatened to force a scream from him and have him crawl out, however, his previous life was not new to pain and as he acclimated to the ambient mana so to did is pain tolerance. Seven small glowing runes floated in an orbit around him, creating a link with the twins drawn on his body, the same ink used with the array. The marks on Spencer¡¯s forehead, lower left chest above his heart, below his navel, both inter thighs and inside of both biceps glowed with power as the identical twin to the floating runes. The runes acted as a direct sympathetic link between the formation array and the runes Spencer drawn close to his major arteries, directly cultivating mana into his blood. This was the most dangerous as the bain of the runes now had the feeling of a constant brand, and would need to be reapplied after every session. The effort was not in vain, and by this point, Spencer had attuned every cell in his body to handle mana. This was the most important part of the formation of a mana core, now that he had established through brute force his mana formation core and his circulatory system now his meridian channels, there was no going back to the system guilds, what he had done was permanent. As a result, his body was now accustomed to the and every breath, heartbeat and cell were now one with the singular task of circulating mana around his body, and that process exposed every cell in him to mana and left a cumulation of mana remanence over time. Spencer knew the first stage of formation was almost complete, and the exponential growth that the array provided along with it. Once his formation was finalised the brute force approach would lose its impact and the process to increase his power would become more difficult and based on time. The use of the array would be helpful but only to speed up the regeneration of mana if he was forced to dip into internal reserves and not just use the ambient mana for spells and empowerments. Though not at the power of his previous life, he was close to the upper limits of what a mage core would have enhanced him. So far most of his hypotheses have been proved correct with the ease of how the array worked, it was painful yes, however, it was more so when forming a mana core. This type of formation didn''t just feel too easy, it felt correct. The wrongness of when he formed his mana core was not present, the feeling of unease that everyone Spencer had to meet had felt when following systems guidance was no longer a nagging that plagued his psyche. He was beginning to have faith that the mage style mana core had caused the majority of the hurdles they had encountered. As a result, he would assume he was just as powerful as the mage ground trooper, an accomplishment that had taken Spencer decades to achieve last time. His mind was clear, sharp and fast, the power strengthen every aspect of his body, it would take weeks or months for the long-term effects on his body to show dividends, he could feel the burn in his muscles already, a burn that would be with him until his body reached the end of the formation. Every cell in his body was permeated with mana and it was a refreshing feeling, a feeling close to how he was, now with the strength approaching that from before, Spencer was less afraid of what would be waking when the storm ended. He was worried at first that it was the right thing to do to expose Victoria to the mana of the array, but his caution was displed with the retrospective knowledge of how much the mage core had crippled everyone in the past. This way the array would guild the mana initially and mitigate any adverse effects, better now and under control than later and random uncontrolled. Victoria had initially been cautious of the array and the silence from the rain within the dome, however, it was by far the safest place in the world right now, and after the first time she saw Spencer increase the density by dissolving a mana crystal at the cardinal point of the array, she was inside and looking at everything with no fear in her at all. The shield protecting the array and the immediate area was being powered essentially by the storm, as the liquid mana rain hit the invisible force protecting the array it would be transferred into the four mana crystals that acted as capacitors for the array. Aside from the concentrated mana effect at the centre of the array, the array area inside the protective dome was also creating an elevated area of mana, this was where Victoria spent her time. If Spencer wanted he could have just sat within the same array and increased his mana formation, and for anyone, without his knowledge, this would have been sufficient, for his daughter the passive effect on her would be highly beneficial in the long run, though she was not in the high density of the centre and Spencer would not have her anywhere close, not until she was much older if ever, the proximity would be nothing but good for her body, especially with the arrays programmed intent to fuse with the blood cells primarily. Mana by its very nature would provide sustenance and nutrients, and her growing body would be consuming mana as a substitute, starvation was almost non-existent in this new world. When a simple mana infused apple could sustain a grown adult for days, the high levels of ambient mana found in the cultivation array would keep an entire family alive indefinitely. This discovery early on was a shocking revelation and was stumbled upon a few weeks after the storm had ended when he had found a group of survivors who had exclusively sustained themselves on plants mutated by mana. And more specifically the array was crafted to keep the mana in its gas state and prevent it from transferring into its highly volatile liquid state, a state that if exposed to before you have reached your formation, could cause unpredictable mutations, a shiver ran up Spencer''s spine as he remembers what the exposure to the storm had done to him. A lot of the problems of the world would be a moot point now that the system was in English, many people who have been exposed to mana would get messages to force a core formation using the class trainers, this would not save everyone, but it was a start. Mana would solve many of earth''s problems, food, energy, pollution and so on almost instantly, in its place a lot more immediately deadly threats replaced it, Spencer was not sure if the old world problems were so bad now. Spencer and Victoria spent days in the artificial dome of daylight, which as it grew more powerful expanded to the inside of his house and most of his back yard, at some point the day after Spencer had begun, Morry their dog decided to join him and his daughter by lazily sleeping up against the field protected the centre of the array. When Spencer would finish his hour-long session the dog would move to sleep in the spot he vacated, absorbing the residual fumes of high-density ambient mana. The mana storm lasted 6 more days, as spencers mana foundation progressed to the final stages and his body, mind and soul hit levels of power he was used to, and as much as the formation array was capable, his memories had stopped fading and the ones not entirely lost become crystal clear, some of the memories were lost, and he suspected with the cleanness of some of the gaps, something had not gone perfectly with the transition. Again Spencer will his mana into the message ¡®yes¡¯. And again a warning. Spencer had no idea what calcifying a nexus node was, it had never happened or more likely it had finished before he got this far with the system. His next step was clear, he needed to get to his pregnant wife. Chapter 8 The rain had rapidly cleared to a slight mourning mist over the next few hours, interspersed with periods of a normal winter drizzle. The array continued to draw power but now it was almost exclusively drawing not from the rain but the residual puddles of mana. Spencer know the easy ride was over and that it would take days if not weeks to cumulate enough power to create a new mana crystal when he increased the density within the array. Instead of using the last collection of mana within the array, as the effects at this point hardly increased his formation in any meaningful way, he linked the array¡¯s power sigils directly to the shielding glyphs using a small spell to etch the new spell array modification for permanence. This would not stop everything from accessing the array, by most creatures he was aware of would not, for added security he added a blood key rune that would only allow access to his blood. If something was able to enter the array after he left and it did not have his blood, it would overload the mana crystals and destroy everything within the shield. With Victoria eating the last of her dried cereal and berry mixes, the outside world grew less dark and small pricks of light streamed through the gaps in the cloud cover. It was in this light that the biggest change was evident to a world waking from the storm, everything felt larger, plants that had only bee shrubs hip-high now were 3 meters tall, grass could now hide a small child, the world that presented itself after the mana storm was wild and unkempt. Spencer knew many would die in the coming days, people would wait in the illusion of safety for a government that could barely help in any meaningful way. He didn''t have many memories from the early weeks, he knew he was injured at some point and was only able to get to the base half alive and with Vicky in his arms. He could do better this time and maybe change the fate of many people around him With a head now the size of what the beagle''s whole body used to be, and a body sprawled behind similar to the size of a horse, the family dog was now capable of being used as a mount for Victoria, this change was not unexpected from Spencer''s past, but the changes had been expedited due to the array. The common trend for most animals during the mana storm involved two key features, size and smarts. The animals almost without exception grew in sizeable to sustain a larger form due to the availability of mana to supplement food requirements and were initially boosted by the volatility of the liquid mana. The second was intelligence and this was the most dangerous, notable in Cats and rats. ¡°Bigggs Moorryy¡± came the cheer when Victoria fully realised how big the dog had grown. ¡°Big Morry indeed, Vicky¡± Spencer responded to which K-9 in question opened his eyes slightly and waged his tail, a tail that now made a solid whack as it slapped against the floor. The beast in front of him observed both Spencer and Victoria from half-lidded eyes, his tongue lolling to the side. He know the dog would remain loyal, as most dogs would, however, he would always feel uncomfortable around the animals, that is until command collars could be built. The discovery of the collars would come after the mages had started using them for mass suppression and after the liberation of a few humans that had been subjected to them by the invaders. Glancing at his daughter who smiles and chatted in a way that only toddlers can, she was not worried in the slightest and the dog in question looked like he always did, just much, much larger. Spencer only remembered the gun safe code because it was Victoria¡¯s birthday, a safe that was located under the stairs behind a false wall, while not exactly illegal to have, the paperwork did indicate the content was ¡®Between¡¯ armouries, with it unlikely to arrive. With a thunk, the locking mechanisms opened and the heavy door swung open to reveal two rifles. His wife''s Winchester lever-action rifle and Spencers Remington 870 Tactical, both firearms had the glistening shine of just the right amount of a light laying of oil. Clearing the Winchester, through a muscle memory that could never be forgotten, then stored it into the black travel case next to the safe and clipped it shut. When he came to 870 tactical shotgun, he instead put on a body harness located on top of the safe and clipped the loop of the stock to a lanyard, clipping the cord to his shouldering side, filling several quick load johnny clips with slug shells, his rig was ready. Reaching past the rifle brackets he transferred the two boxes of ammunition to the bag the rife case was in and took the last item located within the safe. Pausing for a second before grabbing the last item Spencer had stored in the safe. A hard leather sheath housing a two and a half-hand bastard sword. Sliding the blade a few inches out, the razor-sharp edge looked as sharp as the day it was forged by his grandfather a few years before he passed and of all the things he had salvaged in his last life, that sword was on his hip right up until the end. ¡°Daddy, mum said, no!¡± Victoria said from behind his shoulder, somewhat somberly, knowing how much her mother did not like weapons around being in the children''s presence. ¡°Times are changing my love, don¡¯t worry dad will be careful. I Love you darling¡± With a kiss on her head as he move away, not bothering to close the empty safe, to which she laughed. Spencer easily shouldered the bags and moved towards the garage. He loaded the weapons and extra ammunition into the front seat, then moved as much of the water and what was left of the food, sleeping bags, the outdoor garments, the baby clothes that had been set aside for when Eve delivered and a collection of the blank sketchbooks. When it came to the crystals formed by the array, he was hesitant, Spencer was unsure how beneficial it would be to drive around with a car full of mana crystals. In the end, the benefits of a surplus supply of mana crystals outway any unnecessary attention it would bring. he had accumulated a large number in the laundry, moving them from the laundry when the pile got too large, after filling two 80L plastic tubs with the stones, he overloaded the runes of the faucet and the stream of mana subsided. With the packing done he just needed the rain to clear more and he would be on his way, however, a nagging feeling like he was forgetting something was prodding the back of his head. Spencer could not remember the significance of the last week, he didn''t remember specifically what had happened this week, just that he would get hurt and arrive in a delirious state at the research base with Victoria. Trying his best to ignore the feeling, he walked back to the array for a few more checks to make sure everything was working within the spell forms and shields. The dog and Victoria were asleep within the array by the time Spencer had confirmed all the sigils, runes and spell forms were working or more accurately would continue to work with the reduced mana. Victoria''s tiny little form was laying with the dog''s paw as a pillow, with the other paw wrapped protectively around her. Spencer knelt in front of the dog waiting for it to slowly open his eyes and look up at its master, with his hand he drew a complicated spell array in the air leaving a blue line of light when he was done he mixed mana and will into the array and directed his command to the lin that formed from the spell to dog. ¡°Keep her safe dog¡± Morry, slowly nodded his large head twice and chuffed as the spell sunk into the dog''s forehead before fading into nothing, this would instil a sense of what he wanted to do with no confusion, the downside being only one command could be set, unlike the command collars that could hold extremely complex instructions, and more importantly, punishments.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. She was safe and when the darkness from the window next to the door changed from barely visible to light more fitting a daytime storm. Spencer strode to the front of his house and opened the front door to see for the first time in this timeline the devastation the storm had caused. ¡­¡­¡­. The rain pattered in a light mist, gone the raging inferno from before, replaced was a more typical light shower, typically enough to keep it wet and people indoors. The lake that Spencer''s house had overlooked had swollen and flooded to encompass the surrounding parkland, with the tips of the taller trees poking out of the surface like buoys. The water level had risen seven meters in his best estimate with the lake edge lapping halfway across the road on his street. He was not the only person to have picked this time to emerge from their dwellings, Voices and the sound of car doors slamming echoed up and down the street, evident of people trying to leave. Spencer¡¯s mana enhanced eyes could see across the lake that acted as the centre of the suburb, a feature that now would doom anyone trapped by the rising water. More than a few houses were completely submerged, and at the end of the estate was all but gone on the far side, with a few of the roofs just breaking the water''s surface. Spencer was scanning the area to see if he could leave and not get his car flooded, now that the storm had passed, a panic had settled in his guy. Now nothing stood in his way and needed to get to his wife, she should have her son with her or he might have been with his father, so the only detour would be to supply. Splashing from his left drew his eye and a man 3 houses down was wading into the water, in a direction that indicated he was headed towards his ? submerged truck on the far side of the road, that looked to have been half washed down the embankment. He was fiddling with his keys on the far side with his back to the lake. He was struggling to open the door, almost fighting the very lake to get inside his vehicle. A sense of cold dread crawled up his spine as he had a flash of memory as he notices a large green rock like bulge that broke the water''s surface 100m out into the lake. ¡°Mate, GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WATER!!!¡± Spencer''s voice all but boomed from his lungs, a combination of his mana enhanced body and years of being a non-commissioned officer all but exploded out. The silence that followed was unnaturally sill, and it even looked like the bulge had paused for a second or so, before moving again towards the man. ¡°My Phone charger is in the car, I need it to call my girlfriend¡± he answered, quiet but echoing in the silence that followed, the voices and sounds up and down the street had stopped also. ¡°There is something in the water!¡± came a cry from further down the road. The warning had been cut short when the large round green mass suddenly stopped five or so meters from him, the wave break that had built up smashing him into his car, shifting it 35 degrees and the man along with it. The man in the water had stumbled from the force of the wave and was getting up out of the water, As he turned a scaly head and beak jaw shot forth from the mound of rock at a speed that defied its size and attempted to snap shut on the man. Before the man was turned into red mist, a glowing blue circle filled with a pentagram and strange symbols materialised in between him and the beast, spinning lazily in the air, the interested spell array had dazed the now visible giant turtle. The shield that had deflected the turtles head flashed before dissolving, as the onlookers tried to understand what they had just seen a second pentagram appeared high in the sky, this dark blue spell array did not spin but was rigid in the sky, a flash preempted the spell array splitting into quarters and creating 4 smaller versions of the larger. A flash of blue fire in the shape of jagged arrows burst forth from the middle of each spell array, with a slight delay between each. The arrows of light then streaked towards the giant turtle, the arrays become floating motes of light as they faded. Each fiery arrow slammed into the turtle''s head one after another leaving nothing but steaming water and a bloody stump where the creature''s head used to be. Spencer stood, hands outstretched, each held a miniature copy of the arrays, left having the shield and right holding the mana missile spell. When the turtle was dead, Spencer dismissed each and cast a new spell creating another array in front of his face. ¡°EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE EVACUATION CENTERS OR THE ARMY BASE!¡± Spencer''s voice thundered out, enhanced by the volume amplification spell, a staple on the battlefield when traditional comms were hardly reliable. In seconds another Turtle rose from the water a few feet from the first¡¯s dead corps and snapped out from behind, its head mostly underwater crunched onto the dead turtle. The cloud of dark red seeped into the surrounding water, once the man, The man stood as if shell shocked until he saw the red water and he fell back into the overload lake, trying to scream but getting a mouthful of the fouled water. Half vomiting and crying he scrambled across the water covered road, whimpering and crying, until he was inside his house, slamming the door behind him. The water began the churn and more lumps rise from the water. A third turtle approached and snapped at the dead beast''s side. Its head however was caught around the neck by the second turtle''s much larger maw twisting with a crunch. As the frenzy continued the man now drenched and terrified scrambled To the outside of the main skirmish, smaller brown furry humanoid figures scavenged the scraps before disappearing into the murk. Spencer could count 8 car size turtles devouring the unlucky turtle by now, many more would be lurking and waiting to try to feast. It was then that screaming from the house next to Spencers started and brown rat-like heads poked out of the water and turned to face directly to the house the screams resonated from. Spencer stood in his doorway, with a spell form held in his mind. The giant turtles mostly ignored the screams, more content with the cannibalism. The brown-furred abomination however had already started to slowly but hesitantly move through the murky water on a beelining straight for screams coming from the house next to him. The slamming of the door followed by a string of shrill screams and pleading panicking curses only caused the rat-men to glance at each other before hissing in some kind of rudimentary language, the rat-men argued in their abrasive language for a bit. Spencer was unsure of what they would do, with the turtles fighting at the shore he was hesitant to act if they would move on to find easier prey, rat-men were anything but brave, preferring to scavenge or steal, outright attack was unlikely unless they had the larger numbers. Spencer almost thought they had lost interest, that was until a few dozen more heads broke the surface of the water and a handful started to surround one of the giant turtles that had arrived too late for the frenzy. The rats that approved the hulking beast, talking in their hiss and chitter, one to the rear hissed in reply and another next to it darted in under the water towards the turtle, causing the giant animal to jerk away and moan in pain. This happened a few more times before it became apparent what the rats were doing, herding the thing towards the house that the sound of panicked sobbing and occasional shouts originated from. Spencer glanced behind him and was thankful Victoria was still asleep, the array both protecting her from sound and danger. Taking out a shell from the clip on his side, he held it up to his eye and drew an array in the air with his other hand, when the array was completed and the spell was floating in the air, Spencer pressed the slug tip into the centre of the array, the array acted like moving through a spider web and wrapped around the shell before fading into the round, leaving a translucent blue glow in the design of the spell form on the casing. Loading the round into the side of his shotgun, he chambered the round, with a pull-push of the front grip. Lining up the sights onto the lead most rat-man as it chattered excitedly behind the large beats, Spencer released his breath squeezing the trigger as he slightly corrected the aim. ¡°BOOOM WHOMPPP FZZZZzzzzzzzzzzt¡­ Click¡± The round struck the rat-man¡¯s chest, followed by a gout of flame that exited its wound before exploding in a sphere of fire 3 meters in diameter, with sparks dancing around like solar flares on the sun. Before the plume of steam and smoke that the explosion had time to clear, Spencer summoned another spell array in the air, though slightly different in design and appearance. when the second round was pressed against it the array again coated the round, and Spencer loaded the new spelled round and cocked the foregrip to chamber a new round and aimed. As the steam disappeared like fog being slowly dissipated, the giant turtle was gone, a small wake leading away from the scene, and the corpses of a few rat-men floated on the surface of the water, scorched with melted muscles exposed, with only a few patched of fur remaining.