The Sons of Gods

Chapter 3: Quin’s Ascension Part 1

A month of traveling had passed incredibly slowly for Quin. He meditated everyday and practiced with various weapons under the tutelage of Lief Stoneheart, but he was bitter. His image of his teacher being an example of a perfect person embodying justice was cracked. Lief Stoneheart was a shining example of a good soldier and mentor, but he no longer had the perfect image of justice surrounding him. His despicable attack on Sorin that allowed him to gain the upper hand against Magnus Warbringer simply disgusted Quin. Not only had he used underhanded tactics to win a battle, but he had attacked Quin’s own brother.

He used this gross method to obtain victory against someone who could have done the same and yet vowed not too. Quin always saw himself as the brother with the better and more morally sound teacher due to Lief’s gentle training methods. However, now Magnus seemed like the more morally just of the two. Magnus may have inflicted harsh punishment and bruises on Sorin during sparring, but Magnus never attacked someone weaker than him to obtain the upperhand in battle.

Quin shook his head. There was nothing to be done about it now. Quin simply needed to surpass his teacher in strength while maintaining his morality. He would not use such methods to prove to his teacher that the whole fight had been unnecessary. Quin did not want to think about what his teacher may have done in the past to obtain victory. If the first battle he witnessed his master fighting had underhanded methods, he dared not think of what his master would do when in war.

Quin vowed to himself to be what his god Solarius preached. A true follower of Solarius embodied all of his aspects. Quin would embody the goodness of light, the wisdom of the gods, and the might to protect all.

During the month of travel, Lief and Quin had left the Abil mountains and traveled through some plains before entering the Frostwood Forest. The Frostwood Forest would have been dangerous if not for Lief Stoneheart. Every single creature that gazed upon Lief recognized his strength as far surpassing their own and immediately ran away. This made for an easy, yet incredibly boring journey. Quin was itching to fight his first beast, yet every single one of them ran away.

When Quin asked about this situation to his mentor, Lief replied that he would capture a beast for him to fight when he found one of sufficient strength. Quin had reached the 10th Degree of Initiate before departing the village, therefore Quin needed to kill a beast at the same level of strength or higher for Quin to ascend to the rank of Acolyte. Technically, Quin could also have killed a 10th Degree Initiate of the dark pantheon for the same result, but those were virtually nonexistent in the Frostwood Forest due to it being in Light Pantheon’s territory.

Quin and Lief’s travel had taken them from the neutral territory, more commonly referred to as No Man’s Land, to the Light Pantheon’s side of the continent. This neutral territory was decided upon by the Dark and Light Pantheon’s leadership several hundred years ago at the conclusion of the last major war between the two Pantheons. Since then, there have been never ending skirmishes and battles during this period of peace in the No Man’s Land. However, no major war has broken out due to neither side thinking they had the upper hand in strength. Something that would soon change in the years to come.

Both sides were content to send their warriors to fight in No Man’s Land for no gain other than the glory of battle and spirit that came from slaughtering each other. If either Pantheon journeyed too far into No Man’s Land, they would find themselves face to face with an endless wall of forts and defenses that lined each side of the neutral territory. Leif described the whole situation as a lit powder keg now that Quin and Sorin were born. The moment one of them stepped into a semblance of real power and exposed themselves as the demigods that they were to the world, war would be inevitable.

Quin shrugged his pack to reseat it on his shoulders along with a broadsword that Leif had given him. Although Leif said Quin was best suited for a lance based on his build and deposition, he had still trained Quin in other weapons. In particular, weapons that had a lot of heft to them. Quin was a well built boy who was growing bigger by the day and could easily handle heavy weapons with ease. Heavy weapons were ordinarily slow, but Quin was quite quick with them due to his strength. Strength that would only grow in the future.

Quin was distracted by his thoughts when he noticed movement as another beast took off in the trees. Most beasts would attempt to hide from Lief, but when they got too close they would run away assuming they had been spotted. The majority of beasts in the Frostwood Forest were unintelligent and incapable of sentient thought as they did not have enough spirit to gain intelligence. Most beasts would eventually gain intelligence once they had accumulated enough spirit through battle and consuming natural treasures like plants that contained spirit inside them.

The race of the beast would also contribute to when they gained their intelligence. Some beasts gained it as early as the Disciple rank of spirit while others did not appear to ever gain intelligence. Perhaps those beasts who never seemed to gain intelligence simply never hit a high enough rank to obtain intelligence.

Quin could not see how a creature could hit the pinnacle of power, the Soulforge Ascendant Rank, and not obtain intelligence. He brought this thought to his mentor who replied that there are very few beasts who have obtained the Rank of Soulforge Ascendant and they were all legends from long ago. Lief stated that he had no idea if any of these beasts from legend still existed. He said there were tales where Soulforge Ascendant heroes like Sirius Ernestet, who worshiped Valor the god of courage and righteous strength, slew legendary beasts at the Soulforge Rank like Drakonix the Dragon of Many Colors.

Drakonix was a colossal dragon with shimmering scales that would shift to reflect light and make it invisible. Drakonix had mastered the power of light and would wield light magic like none other. It was said that Drakonix could permanently blind anyone who dared face him. In slaying Drakonix, Sirius had been blinded. His sight never recovered before his death a few hundred years later.

Sirius losing his sight led him to being far weaker than other Soulforge Ascendants. When war broke out with the Dark Pantheon, he was the first Soulforge Ascendant casualty. Although his death was tragic and ill fitting of someone of his stature, Sirius still fighting despite his lost sight proved that he embodied the courage and valor his god taught.

Quin had asked who killed Sirius Ernestet, but Lief did not know. Whoever killed Sirius in the Dark Pantheon did not go claiming credit for such a feat. After a large battle, the Light Pantheon had noticed that Sirius did not return and later found his body quite the distance from the battlefield filled with wounds.

Another creature shot through the underbrush and away from the two travelers. However this time, Lief perked up and watched the beast run away. Lief smiled and dropped his pack and warhammer onto the ground.

“Wait here my boy, I have found your prey,” Lief instructed. Then he was gone, dashing after the beast at an incredible speed. In an instant, he had closed the distance between himself and the beast. Lief tackled the beast he had been chasing. Together the two tumbled to the ground, smashing foliage and bushes with their bodies.

“Ah ha!” Lief shouted in triumph. He held the beast aloft in both hands despite the sizable animal. It was a Velvetail Pouncer, a diminutive yet agile creature that prowls the various woodlands in the Light Pantheon’s territory. This small feline-like creature was covered in soft, velvety fur that shimmered with a subtle, iridescent glow that mimicked the trees. Its fur changed with the season. With it being the height of summer, the fur was a forest green. When winter came, the fur would change to be snow white.

The Velvetail Pouncer had large, expressive eyes that gleamed with curiosity and mischief, framed by tufted ears that twitched at every sound. It was said that it moved with a grace that belayed its small size. The feline beast had a tail that was particularly noteworthy – long, slender, and adorned with a plume of feathery fur at the tip.

Despite its diminutive stature, the Velvetail Pouncer possessed remarkable speed and agility, capable of darting through the underbrush with an unparalleled swiftness. It was known for its playful nature, often engaging in acrobatic displays and quick maneuvers to catch elusive insects.

Although it was definitely not his favorite topic, Quin had been endlessly drilled on the various beasts that inhabited the world and their weaknesses. Lief stressed that he would die of shame if Quin died of the cardinal sin, ignorance. Ignorance was not actually the cardinal sin as the cardinal sin was actually rejecting a god of their status of being a god. However, ignorance had been linked to many instances of committing the cardinal sin. Those examples were enough for Lief to deem ignorance to be intolerable.

“Look alive, boy! Stop your daydreaming and draw your sword,” Lief shouted as he emerged from the foliage. The Velvetail Pouncer was squirming in his grip, clearly terrified of the large man. The second Lief let go of the creature, the beast would immediately try to escape him. The Velvetail Pouncer would attack anything in the way of its escape. That thing preventing its escape was going to be Quin.

Quin tossed his pack to the side and drew his sword. Quin was currently using a large broadsword. He took a stance that was made to make quick defensive adjustments with minimal movement. Quin knew he was slower than the cat and therefore needed to survive the first few attacks before launching a counterattack. If he attempted to strike first, he would overextend himself and leave himself open for the faster opponent.

Once Quin adopted his stance, Lief let go of the Velvetail Pouncer without a single word. Doing anything else would take away from Quin’s first true battle experience with a beast. As predicted, the Velvetail Pouncer ran away from Lief at top speed, directly towards Quin. The feline was on Quin in a mere second and swiped at him, intending to wound Quin before making an escape into the forest.

Quin parried the first strike then shifted his sword just ever so slightly to block the next blow. During the second block, Quin shoved his sword forward causing the Velvetail Pouncer to be pushed backward. Being pushed back caused the Velvetail Pouncer to view Quin as a threat and it leaped back to get some distance and examine its opponent. Quin used the opportunity to swap to a new stance and reset his posture as he was taught. This new stance was adapted for offense.

During the exchange, Quin realized his advantage in strength in comparison to the creature. If Quin was stronger, then he could take the beast’s blows head on and come out on top. A breath passed as the beast and human studied each other. Quin noticed the cat shift its weight as if to pounce and moved to attack.

The Velvetail Pouncer leapt into the air intending to use its body weight to throw Quin to the ground before mauling him. Quin swung his sword in a forward arc and took the beast out of the air with a slash. The slash cut a wound into the feline’s stomach while throwing the cat off its trajectory. The Pouncer crashed into the ground.

Quin, not wasting a single moment, carried the momentum of his slash around his body with a spin and brought the sword into a downward strike. The downward slash was executed using the previous attack’s momentum so as to not let the Velvetail Pouncer recover and get to its feet. The overhead strike came down with a crash onto the beast’s back. The sword bisected flesh and the beast howled its death throe as the sword cut through its flesh and spine before obliterating its heart. The Velvetail Pouncer was slain and Quin was victorious.

Quin felt a large influx of spirit the moment he had slain the beast. Quin then realized how slow meditation was compared to killing beasts. The single beast that had taken only a minute of battle to kill had given him more spirit than what he would accumulate in several days. If Quin fought beasts several times a day, his cultivation of spirit would skyrocket. He would have to ask Lief to go hunting more often. This was far more efficient. Dangerous, but efficient.

Quin removed his sword from the beast’s body with a squelch. He winced at the noise and the mess he had created. When he landed his slash on the Velvetail Pouncer midair, he had gotten himself covered in blood and the killing blow had made it worse. He and his sword were absolutely soaked in blood. It was going to take forever to clean himself, the sword, and his clothes.

“Excellent my boy! Not a scratch on you. As expected of my disciple, I have trained you well. You made the correct decision by beginning on the defensive. Usually, young men are more hot headed and prefer to attack first.” Lief praised Quin.

Quin’s face broke out into a brilliant smile showing his white teeth at the praise. It was at that moment a few drops of blood ran down his face and into his mouth. Quin immediately began spitting and hacking, trying to get the blood out of his mouth.

Lief broke out in uproarious laughter. Quin did not know if he expected this to happen, but it was very clear that Lief found his predicament amusing. Quin quit his spitting and walked over to his pack, wondering if Lief got covered in blood and suffered a similar humiliation on his first hunt. He fished out his canteen and used it to wash his hands and his face.

“So… ah… is there a river or lake nearby, Sir?” Quin asked awkwardly. This caused Lief’s laughter to redouble. He walked towards Quin while chuckling in a low rumble. Lief grabbed Quin’s pack and shouldered it with ease. Then he grabbed his own pack and his warhammer, also carrying them with little effort. Quin raised an eyebrow at his mentor’s back. If he could carry all three so easily, why was Quin carrying a pack? Between his broadsword and pack Quin had been exhausted and sore at the end of each day. Quin was absolutely positive that if he challenged his mentor, he would go into a rant about Quin needing to be strong of body, mind, and character. In Lief’s opinion, carrying lots of weight over long distances would strengthen all three.

“There is a river a few kilometers in this direction.” Lief said as he gestured to the left. Quin sighed, the blood would be dried by the time they reached the river.

Quin mildly expected this was an annoying lesson being taught by his mentor. He could picture his mentor lecturing him on the proper way to scrub blood from his body. That had his thoughts stray to the time that Lief had lectured Quin on proper hygiene as a teenager. That would be an embarrassing memory for the rest of his life. Thankfully, Quin had run away in embarrassment when Lief started to talk about how a man would never attract a lovely lady if they smelled of sweat and dirt.

Together, the pair walked till they reached a crystal clear river. The river was flowing at a moderate speed and was not very deep, it was perfect for bathing. Quin gently placed his sword on the ground and peeled off his blood caked clothes. He waded into the river and hissed at the cold. The river looked so nice after being sweaty and dirty, but damn it was cold. Lief chuckled at his reaction to the river.

“You know why they called it the Frostwood Forest, Quin? It's because most of the time this forest is covered in snow. We just happened to be passing through in one of the few months out of the year that this river is not frozen under ice. Therefore it makes sense that the water would be frigid,” Lief explained with a smile. Quin shot him a glare over the shoulder.

“Oh it's refreshing, you should wash off too, Sir,” Quin shot back, trying to keep the chatter of his teeth out of his voice. Lief laughed.

Both the men were in high spirits from the fight and the small bonding moment. Quin had been distant as of late due to how he parted with his brother and it had been bothering Lief. Lief knew Quin would get over it in time, but was still worried it would damage their relationship. He liked the young man and couldn’t have asked for a better disciple. He thanked Solarius for this opportunity every day.

“Oh quit your blubbering and clean yourself up. I will clean your sword then we can finally let you ascend to Acolyte,” Lief harrumphed. Quin started in surprise. In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten the sole reason for the fight with the beast. He had accomplished the prerequisite to ascend from Initiate to Acolyte. The next time Quin meditated, he would feel his ascension to the next stage and obtain powers from his god Solarius. Quin had been waiting his whole life for this and could not wait any longer.

Quin dove into the water and washed himself quickly, ignoring the biting cold of the water. He broke from the surface and strode out of the water, spraying water everywhere. Once on shore and shook himself to fling water from him like a dog. Lief rolled his eyes at his impatient student. He would have to find a way to instill patience in the boy or it could be his downfall. Quin was always so eager in whatever he did. Lief pulled clothes from Quin’s pack and tossed them at him.

“Put on some clothes. I won’t have my disciple be the first person to ascend to the rank of Acolyte completely naked. If you didn’t die of the embarrassment, I would. The great son of Solarius ascended nude while I stood by idle. I would become a laughing stock,” Lief spoke, his voice full of fake woe.

Quin rolled his eyes and dressed quickly, not bothering to fully dry himself. That caused the rough homespun pants and shirt to cling wetly to his frame that was filling out with muscle.

Quin sat on the grass and crossed his legs. He clasped his hands in his lap in a prayer gesture. He took a few moments to calm his heart and steady his breathing. He felt inside himself and felt the spirit whirling in his body like a whirlpool. A small whirlpool, but one nonetheless.

Lief had explained to Quin how to ascend many times so Quin knew exactly what he needed to do. Quin gathered all of the spirit within him. He had been accumulating this spirit slowly for the past year for this. He took all the spirit and directed it towards a burning light within himself.

That light was Quin’s connection to his god and father, Solarius. Each person who devoted themselves to a god would have something inside of themselves called a divine conduit that connected them to their god. The deeper the connection to their god and the stronger the belief they held in that god, the bigger that divine conduit would become. The larger the divine conduit, the easier a follower could send their god spirit and the more power a god could bestow upon that follower.

Quin’s divine conduit was apparently massive in comparison to other followers. The reason for that being that he was the son of a god. The connection they had between father and son ran deeper than any belief that a follower could have. Therefore, Quin’s exchange of spirit for power from Solarius should be unmatched. At least that is what Quin and Lief hypothesized when Lief taught Quin to find his divine conduit.

In addition to Quin’s large conduit, they had noticed that Lief’s mentoring of Quin had been improving Lief’s divine conduit. The two of them surmised that this may have to do with Quin being a demigod. By assisting Quin, Lief was affirming his belief in Solarius and proving his devotion to his god everyday. Therefore it would make sense that Lief’s divine conduit would grow far faster than ever before.

With each and every breath, Quin funneled the spirit he saved over the past year into the conduit. It felt like a lot to Quin, but the amount of spirit was microscopic compared to what he would need to amass to ascend from Acolyte to Disciple. This was but a small step on a very long journey for Quin.

Finally, all of the spirit entered the divine conduit. Quin suddenly felt utterly drained and worried that he had done something wrong. Was the spirit he had was not enough or that the beast was not of the 10th Degree of Initiate? Just as Quin was about to voice his doubts, his conscience was whisked away.