The Sons of Gods

Quin shifted from stance to stance with his broadsword. Quin’s new sparkling golden hair danced with his movements. He moved with a grace that did not match his size. Although Lief Stoneheart claimed Quin was destined to use a lance in battle, Quin was unsure. He felt a kinship with his broadsword. The way he wielded it was powerful, yet elegant and agile.

Quin was currently matched against a Frostwood Nymph. The Frostwood Nymph is a mystical creature native to the cold and remote corners of forests. Its slender form, draped in gossamer robes of frost, moved gracefully through the what was normally icy underbrush, leaving a shimmering trail of frost in its wake. Standing tall on delicate, crystalline limbs, the Frostwood Nymph's ethereal beauty was matched only by its otherworldly presence.

The Frostwood Nymph had skin as pale as moonlight and hair like spun silver, the nymph would seamlessly blend into its wintry surroundings if it was any other season of the year. Its eyes, a mesmerizing shade of glacial blue, reflected scenes of wonderlands of ice. Despite its serene appearance, the Frostwood Nymph was fiercely protective of its domain, wielding powerful magic to safeguard the creatures and flora that dwell within its forest.

Quin had enraged the nymph through his constant battle and slaughter that he had been engaging in since he had ascended to Acolyte. The Frostwood Nymph normally would not emerge during this season as it was far weaker in this warmer part of the year. Its natural camouflage in icy environments was gone and its powers over ice were significantly weakened.

Quin would not have dared to engage such a creature if it was not in this weakened state. If Quin was still an Initiate, he would have been instantly killed by the Frostwood Nymph. However, since he had become an Acolyte and become acquainted with his new powers, he believed he could defeat the fearsome beast.

With a shout, Quin activated his first of five powers he had awakened. A golden light spiraled down from the sky and wrapped around Quin. It appeared as if Quin’s skin and clothes had taken on a golden sheen. Quin had awakened the power of Luminous Aura. This power could summon light to become a barrier around Quin to protect him from physical and magical attacks. Leif had told Quin that this was an excellent power, named The Radiant Shield by the Church of Solarius. Despite the excellence of the power, it was relatively common. Quin was disappointed to obtain a common ability at first, but after using the ability and seeing its effectiveness at protecting him from injury he had no qualms.

Quin’s Radiant Shield ability had manifested in the nick of time to deflect an icicle spear thrown at him by the Frostwood Nymph. The icicle struck a glancing blow on Quin’s skin before spinning off into the forest. The Radiant Shield generated from Luminous Aura cracked on his arm where he had been struck. The nymph’s spellcasting was incredibly quick and the cold that accompanied it chilled Quin, causing his movements to grow sluggish. Quin could tell it was going to be a grueling and painful fight where he took many hits before managing to retaliate against the woodland vixen.

In retaliation for the strike against him, Quin activated his second power that had been bestowed upon him. Quin pointed his broadsword towards the nymph. Light gathered over the course of a few moments at the tip of the sword into a ball before shooting forth as a beam. The beam glowed golden and moved incredibly quickly towards the nymph. The nymph moved to dodge, but was caught in the shoulder. The beam burned the nymph and caused her to shriek in pain. She stumbled before returning fire by throwing icicles toward Quin.

Quin winced as his spell missed the intended target of the nymph’s chest. It was called Solar Flare. The name greatly exaggerated its effect as a little beam of scorching light could not be compared to the true power of a solar flare. However, Quin was told that the name had come from Jonathan Brightsage, a Soulforge Ascendant who had cultivated this power to its greatest and most destructive form. Brightsage had wiped out an entire city with this power from a great distance. He then dubbed this power, Solar Flare. The name used to be something different long ago before Brightsage’s feats, but that name has been forgotten for a long time.

Quin cursed as he took off running towards the nymph. That missed spell was going to justify Lief in forcing Quin to practice the spell for hours. Lief had found it strange that Quin had obtained Solar Flare as one of his powers. It was usually reserved for followers who were geared towards following a path of spellcasting. Spellcasters were followers who usually were ranged attackers and focused on large destructive attacks that expended a large amount of their spirit reserves.

Spirit reserves was a term used to describe how much spirit a follower could output before needing to recover. The size of the spirit reserve within a person dictated what rank and degree they held. The higher the Rank and Degree, the more spirit reserves it was expected for the follower to have. By cultivating, a follower could use their divine conduit to pull spirit into themselves. This would increase their spirit reserves by a small margin. Eventually, this spirit reserve would hit a threshold and the follower would ascend in Degree or Rank.

Expanding one’s spirit reserve could be done at a far faster rate by slaying those that carried spirit within them whether this was a man or a beast. Their death would release spirit into the surroundings and those nearby. Those who survived the battle, would draw in the spirit using their Divine Conduit.

The Divine Conduit was within each and every believer of a god or goddess. The connection and belief in their god’s might and teachings would dictate how potent their Divine Conduit was. The stronger a Divine Conduit, the faster a follower could pull in spirit. The strength of the Divine Conduit would also dictate how far a follower could ascend in the Ranks. If someone had a weak Divine Conduit due to lack of belief, they would not ascend very far in the Ranks of followers.

The volume of one’s spirit reserves were incredibly important. Whenever a follower would activate a spell or ability that was granted to them during an Ascension from their god, it would cost spirit. The cost would vary based on the ability being used. Quin’s Solar Flare was an example of a spirit intensive spell. If a follower ran out of spirit, then they would be unable to use anymore of their spells or abilities until they passively reabsorbed spirit or spent time cultivating draw in spirit.

Spirit from slaying creatures or other followers could not be used immediately to replenish spirit reserves as taking in so much spirit at once could damage one’s Divine Conduit and therefore destroy the follower’s potential to Ascend. The follower would simply have to hold the spirit from the battle within themselves till they could slowly absorb it into their Divine Conduit or let the accumulated spirit dissipate into the surroundings.

It had to be noted that there was a difference between spells and abilities. One could have both, but usually leaned towards a majority in one or the other. Spells were powers that had a magical manifestation and created something from spirit. This could manifest in ways such as creating water from spirit or in Quin’s case, super focused light. Spells were strange in the fact that they were wide in variety and could range from fertilizing soil to raining down fiery death, but every spell was classified in whether it created something from spirit. Newly documented spells emerged in the Pantheon of Light every hundred years or so.

Abilities on the other hand focused on using raw spirit. Instead of turning the spirit into something tangible, it would enhance the wielder or create mysterious effects using raw spirit without changing its basic form. For example, Luminous Aura although it would seem to be a spell at first glance, it was actually an ability. It would take raw spirit and coat the wielder to protect them instead of changing the spirit into something tangible like an earthen shield. The yellow sheen that accompanied Luminous Aura was simply the light being attracted to the raw spirit that was manifesting through Quin who turned the affinity of the spirit radiating from him to have a light property.

Quin did not bother to use Solar Flare again to engage in a ranged battle with the Frostwood Nymph. The nymph excelled in ranged combat while Quin had spent most of his time training in melee weapons. Quin activated his third and favorite power that he had obtained, Luminary Empowerment, more commonly called The Might of Sol.

The Might of Sol was an ability that was the bread and butter of any follower of Solarius in the Order of Might. It drew upon the boundless energy of the sun itself and the spirit within the follower to enhance the follower’s physical capabilities to superhuman levels. It enhanced Quin’s speed, strength, and endurance as long as he continued to pour spirit into the ability.

Quin’s speed drastically increased as he dashed towards the nymph. She began to panic and unleashed more spells towards him. Quin dodged icicles, balls of ice, and clouds of chilling mist as he weaved between the trees. Occasionally, one of the spells would strike him and cause his Radiant Shield defense to crack or shatter, but he passed through the barrage relatively unharmed.

Quin reached the Frostwood Nymph and swung his sword with his enhanced strength. The blow cleanly sliced through a pillar of ice that the nymph erected in order to protect herself. The pillar crumbled while Quin spun to carry his momentum into a thrust that impaled the Frostwood Nymph through the stomach.

The nymph spat out blue blood and crumbled into the weapon impaling her stomach. Quin waited for a brief moment before he felt an influx of spirit pouring into him and the surroundings, confirming the death of the beast. Quin withdrew his sword and let the body fall to the ground. He had been reluctant to fight the nymph as it was an intelligent creature and resembled the human race.

Quin had proclaimed before the Frostwood Nymph attacked that he had no ill will towards her and would stop his hunting of the creatures in her domain. The nymph had not warranted him a response and had attacked anyway. After that, Quin could not hold any reservations as trying to hold back would cost him his life.

Quin tried to block out any feelings of guilt as he sat down to cultivate the spirit that he had accumulated from killing the nymph. He had not realized that his hunting and honing of skills would bring him into conflict with something that appeared so human. After Quin had absorbed the spirit released from the Frostwood Nymph, he stood and turned towards Lief Stoneheart who stood several paces away.

“That was a difficult battle. You were taken by surprise and yet emerged with no injuries. You did however miss your Solar Flare. You will be spending the foreseeable future practicing the spell every night,” Lief Stoneheart stated.

Quin grimaced. He could already picture the mind numbing practice till the moon was shining brilliantly overhead. He was not looking forward to the lack of sleep. This feeling was interrupted by his feeling of guilt and horror over killing the Frostwood Nymph washing over him again once more.

“Uhhh, sir? Did I murder her? I understand she attacked first, but I feel she was justified. Have I committed a grave sin against the good that Solarius preaches?” Quin asked hesitantly.

“Nonsense my boy. Although the Frostwood Nymph was intelligent, she is still considered a beast who has not seen the grace of the gods. If she had seen the grace of the gods, she would not have attacked you like she had. This was nothing more than a beast attempting to protect their territory and take revenge for the creatures under her domain that you slew,” Lief gave a deep chuckle before walking over and patting Quin on the back with a meaty fist. It knocked Quin forward a few paces. The reassurances did not quell Quin’s reservations.

“Just because she does not worship the same gods as us does not make her a beast,” Quin protested.

“Hmm perhaps not. Frostwood Nymphs have been known in some places to worship Pacifica, the goddess of water and safe passage. I believe a collection of them are near Gedon, the City of Palaces. However, this is not the case in the Frostwood Forest. The nymphs in this forest follow their own teachings about nature and the world. Not a bad principle to follow. However, when it comes to cultivating spirit, there is no room for hesitation. Conflict must occur to advance and all sides understand this. Do not feel guilty for engaging in what is natural,” Lief reassured.

“I suppose… I still feel unsure about my actions. I will pray to my father Solarius for guidance,” Quin responded.

“An excellent decision. Solarius holds all of the answers for his followers,” Lief beamed at Quin. Lief believed that response was reassurance that he was raising the boy to become an outstanding lad. The questioning of the world would drive him to new heights and belief in Solarius to guide him to the answers was the correct path.

Usually, prayer would rarely lead to answers for those in the lower ranks of spirit cultivation, but Quin was an exception. Quin’s fourth power bestowed upon him by his father Solarius, was Celestial Resonance or more commonly called Divine Insight. It was an ability that allowed Quin to pray to Solarius while suffusing his mind with spirit and receive glimpses of information or words from Solarius and the world around him. If Quin properly cultivated such an ability, he would eventually be able to speak to Solarius directly without the need for advancing in Rank to Zealot or outside help.

The Divine Insight ability was only gifted to those with incredibly strong Divine Conduits and was a clear sign of a follower’s talent. By displaying this ability in front of the Church of Solarius or whatever god they follow, a follower would be treated as a supreme talent. Lief was pleased by this ability being present in Quin as it would allow him to gain direct guidance from Solarius that he himself would be unable to provide.

Not much was documented about the sons and daughters of gods, but it was noted that they were supreme talents and usually possessed some sort of divine ability or abilities if they reached a high enough Rank. This divine ability or abilities would cause them to be far stronger than their peers at the same Rank. Lief Stoneheart had to make sure that Quin reached that threshold of power as soon as possible so that Quin had the power to protect himself when the entire world eventually learned of his identity.

“We are getting close to Cremoor. It should only be a few more days of travel. I expect us to see less and less beasts in the wilderness. This will hasten our progress towards our destination, but there will be less beasts for you to practice upon. Therefore I wish for you to practice with your fifth power granted by Solarius,” Lief stated as he helped Quin to his feet.

“If there are less beasts closer to the city then that would be the ideal time to practice my fifth power,” Quin agreed.

Quin’s fifth power was something that Lief had never heard of. Lief and Quin decided to name the ability Ethereal Radiance. It was an ability that allowed Quin to suffuse his body with spirit like Luminary Empowerment, but instead of strengthening Quin physically, it also empowered his other powers to be far stronger. It essentially multiplied the power he could wield many times over. However, the spirit cost was massive and it left Quin exhausted after just a dozen seconds.

Quin did not fully understand the full extent of Luminary Empowerment. He felt there was more to the power, but could not figure out what besides the straight power increase and the ease that he could cast his only spell, Solar Flare. What he did understand was that practicing it was very tiresome. The one time he had used it in battle he was so taken off guard by the power increase it caused him to run flat into a tree. That mistake almost got him impaled. Although the teasing from Lief could be considered far worse than what the injury would have been.

Practice. Practice. Practice. That is what Quin had ahead of him. Although he sighed at the thought of the constant practice, he was also glad for the distraction. He did not want to be constantly worrying about his brother. He told himself Sorin was fine and was probably gallivanting through the countryside on some adventure. However, he knew in his heart of hearts that Sorin could very well be dead from traveling the countryside with only the strength of an Initiate and with no one to protect him.

Quin shook his head to get rid of the bleak thoughts. He needed to focus on the present. Perhaps he could grow strong enough then attempt to seek out his brother and give him a proper farewell.

“Grab your pack lad, it is time to get back to walking. Cremoor awaits our arrival. Oh, how good it will feel to be home yet again,” Lief proclaimed. Quin nodded and grabbed his pack that rested several dozen paces away where he had dropped it before the fight. Together the two turned west and continued their journey to Cremoor.

It took the duo five days to reach the final stretch to Cremoor. During that time Lief and Quin discussed in depth what would happen once they reached the city. Quin had spoken to Lief about what he and his father, Solarius, discussed while Sorin was in Solarius’s divine realm. Lief had been flabbergasted upon hearing that Quin had entered Solarius’s divine realm on his very first ascension and seeing Quin’s glittering hair that came from Solarius’s touch.

However, Lief’s reaction to Quin visiting the divine realm and obtaining some flashy locks of hair paled in comparison to Lief’s reaction to what Solarius had told Quin about future abilities. Lief had jumped in joy and astonishment to know that Quin could learn and obtain powers from others who followed Solarius. Even if it would be incredibly difficult to learn these powers from others and Quin was limited to how many powers he could possess by the strength of his body, Quin would be an ultimate powerhouse. No others could compare to Quin’s limitless potential. Lief had almost immediately begun to mutter and plot about what powers would suit Quin and who possessed them.

What had put a small damper on the conversation was the revelation that others who followed Solarius would most likely know of Quin’s existence. Lief had been hoping to keep Quin underwraps for as long as possible so he would have time to grow into his power, but if the powerhouses following Solarius knew about Quin then it would only be a matter of time before he was revealed. Lief would have to inform the various Orders of Solarius to not raise a ruckus and begin to turn over every rock while looking for Quin and alerting the world to his presence.

When Quin shared the advice that Solarius gave him to Lief, Lief had mixed reactions. He fully supported seeking out Azrael Wisage when Quin reached the Rank of Disciple. Although Lief had never met Azrael Wisage, he had a spectacular reputation as a general and warrior that still served on the front lines in No Man’s Land. He belonged to the Order of Wisdom under Solarius and was a genius when it came to tactics.

When Quin mentioned that Solarius said he should seek out information about his mother and the situation involving his mother that made her an ideal candidate to hold the child of Solarius, Lief was troubled. Lief Stoneheart did not know much about Quin’s mother Loma, but he had heard rumors that troubled him. Lief had never heard of any man or woman who was able to ascend without killing and therefore he assumed that Loma had killed, just in secret to maintain a false air of purity and holiness. Lief had no patience for liars. However, ever since he knew Loma had been chosen to carry the son of his God, he knew that Loma was special. Although he did not know if this was due to the rumors around her.

Of course, Lief Stoneheart did not voice any of these assumptions as it would have not only offended Quin, but blasphemed against Solarius. How could Lief speak ill against his God’s choice in who would bear his child? However if Solarius had said something nefarious had happened pertaining to the chosen mother of Solarius’s children then it was certainly something that needed to be investigated.

“I hate to say this to you Quin, but I will be unable to assist you with searching for the secrets surrounding your mother. I wish with all of my heart to assist you, but if Solarius said that you needed to investigate her background then my hands are tied. You must be the one to seek out the truth. If I were to intervene it may cause unforeseen issues that neither you or I could predict. Solarius is the wisest of the Gods and therefore says much with few words. He would have specified if he wished me to help you in this endeavor,” Lief explained.

“I fear you may be right. You have far more experience in interpreting my father’s words than I have. If this must be an undertaking that I handle alone then so be it,” Quin agreed.

In addition to their conversations, Quin did an extensive amount of practice. They could have easily made the journey to Cremoor in three days, but Lief had Quin practicing his powers to exhaustion each night. This caused Quin to be far more tired and need more sleep and time to cultivate his lost spirit back. The delay was well worth it as Quin’s aim with Solar Flare improved drastically. Additionally, so did the time to gather the beam of light into existence before firing.

Quin also practiced his Ethereal Radiance ability. He made zero progress when it came to unlocking the secrets of the ability that he felt he was missing, but he did manage to extend the duration by a quarter of a second. This may have not seemed like much, but for five days of practice, the progress was incredible. If he practiced every day for a month, he would extend the ability’s pitiful duration of a dozen seconds to thirteen and a half seconds. If he continued that for a year, he would more than double the duration to thirty seconds. That added duration would be a trump card that he could save for ending or escaping fights.

“Look up lad! You see the watchtowers in the distance poking through the forest,” Lief pointed out.