Tales Of The Luminescent Realms: Book 1 - Fatal Ambition

Chapter 1 Nim

Undoing several layers of clothes, Nim walked up to a snow-covered evergreen and began to relieve himself. A cold northern breeze pulled against his white cloak. The cloak's hood concealed his short brown hair and yellow eyes that could have otherwise stood out against the snow-covered landscape. Snowy peaks jutted up on all sides, but only the top halves of them were still receiving any sunlight. A small cracker hung in Nim's mouth, the last of his daily ration. As he sucked on it, he scratched at the short beard that adorned his face. The beard was new and while it was nice for the added warmth it provided; it itched more than he had expected. Looking back up, Nim scanned the horizon and froze. His cracker fell to the ground. He cupped a hand around his eyes, hoping to cut out light from the setting sun. About a hundred yards away, an Anvine bear traipsed through the snow.

Nim hastily buttoned his clothes. Turning to where he had seen the bear, an old memory flashed through his thoughts. Not now. He pushed the thought away. Quickly squatting down, he grabbed bits of snow and attempted to mash them together. The snow refused to pack. He looked back up. The bear was moving steadily across the horizon. If it wasn't for the possibility of attracting enemies, or triggering an avalanche, he'd have yelled at the beast. Nim was already at the forest's edge. If he stepped out into the open, he'd be directly disobeying Commander Greeves' orders. Taking out his canteen, he poured some water onto the snow. Using the now-wet snow, he was able to craft a large snowball. Standing up, he channeled his luminescence. Yellow light flowed out from him, becoming a translucent yellow aura that engulfed his body. Yellow strands of light danced about within the aura, twisting and changing in size, enhancing his strength. He now felt as light as the air around him. With everything I can channel right now, that still seems far. He looked back at the horizon, gauging the distance one final time. If it wasn't so cold...

Bringing his left arm back, the light around his arms and chest bolstered in size, while the glow around the rest of his body diminished. He catapulted the snowball into the air. It followed a massive arc as it headed toward the bear. The yellow strands of light that had been dancing about him faded away as he held his breath, watching the snowball's flight. C'mon... The bear stopped and moved its head down to sniff the ground. Nim's snowball sailed into the snow behind it. Poof! Hearing the impact, the bear turned around. Nim hastily bent down to make another snowball. Of course, it had to land behind it. He stood back up. Repeating his earlier motions and channeling his luminescence, he hurled the second snowball into the air. It followed a similar yet slightly smaller arc to the last one. A second later, Poof! The snowball landed on the bear's side that faced Nim. It let out a small roar as it turned in Nim's direction. Nim flared his luminescence for just a second. The yellow light stood out at the forest's edge, catching the bear's attention.

It changed its direction and started moving towards Nim. After closing half the distance between them, the bear picked up speed and let out a roar. Nim's luminescent aura disappeared as if being sucked back inside his body. He redirected the luminescence and channeled it into enhancing his sight instead of his strength. His eyes glowed slightly. Wait...isn't that a female? The bear was moving full speed now. Plowing through the snow unabated, it let out another roar. In that case... Nim stopped enhancing his sight. His luminescent aura quickly returned to surrounding his body as he enhanced his strength. A small spot right below the ear. Maya's words echoed in his mind. Nim put his left foot forward, and brought up clenched fists, keeping his sword sheathed. Nim remained unmoving, and silent, with the bear only moments away. Baring its fangs, it lunged at him, tearing through the air with its massive claws. He ducked forward to the bear's left, moving around its side. As he turned around, so did the bear. It stood up and its massive frame extended into the evening sky.

Its right arm tore through the air in a downward swing. Ducking left, Nim felt the wind from the attack move past his face. Right below the ear. Repeating Maya's words to himself, Nim pulled his arm back. As the bear landed, he twisted his body and thrust his fist at a small point on the side of the bear's head. Crack! Woomf. The bear's body fell to the ground. A large amount of snow scattered into the air. Jumping back, Nim remained vigilant, ready to evade. As the snow settled, he stared at the limp body of the bear. Waiting a few moments, he walked up and gave the bear a hard kick. Nothing? Nim was surprised. Dropping his stance, he looked around. Scanning the area, in case there were others, he saw nothing else of concern. Looking back down at the body, he stopped channeling his luminescence and stooped down next to the bear's mouth. Carefully pulling its lips back, he used the width of his thumb to measure its largest tooth. About four. It was a common measuring tactic. The average was three to four. Too bad you didn't show up three days ago. Nim let out a sigh. Genri would have preferred Bear stew over crackers for his last meal.

He looked at the bear's dead eyes. The memory he had ignored earlier resurfaced. A boy in the memory called out Nim's name. Nim pushed the thought away and looked around at the snow-covered landscape. Beautiful, but desolate. He looked back down at the bear. He'd have to wait for his replacement to arrive before bringing the bear back into camp. For now, it'd be best to hide the corpse. Grabbing the jaw of the bear, Nim channeled his luminescence and dragged the beast under one of the trees. Tearing off a branch from the tree, he brushed over the snow where he and the bear had fought before joining the bear back underneath the tree. He pushed it onto its side and sat next to its belly, keeping watch between the branches.

Time passed quicker as the bear's warmth erased Nim's fatigue. The evening sun continued to fall further into the horizon, causing the shadows of the trees to lengthen. Nim reached up to scratch his beard. They were supposed to move out any day now, but with Greeves being as sick as he was, their plans had changed. As Nim looked out from beneath the tree, questions whirled about in his head. Killing Delsyx would end it. The death of one man could end a war? It seemed impossible two months ago. To get this far without being seen. Yet we've arrived at his doorstep and he hasn't moved. Greeves said we're only what? Twenty miles from Levaris. Does Delsyx know we're coming? Is this a trap?

Camp Vale was currently nestled in a hidden valley among the Anview mountains just outside the city of Levaris. When first entering the icy peaks, the weather had been nothing but high winds and heavy snowfall. Perfect for moving undetected, but miserable for travel. They had started their journey with a guide, Genri, who had been invaluable for navigating the treacherous landscape. Two months later, winter was coming to a close, and the weather was beginning to improve. Unfortunately, Genri had died three days ago from sickness. A sickness that had also infected Commander Greeves.

The uneasy tension gnawed at Nim. Most of the things he was worrying about, he knew he couldn't change anyway. His stomach growled. Oh! He quickly ran over to the other tree where he had dropped his ration. After searching for a little while, he saw it and picked it up. Suddenly, a bit of snow fell off one of the nearby evergreens. Nim whirled about, bringing his hand down to his sword. After looking about, he saw where the snow had landed, and breathed a sigh of relief. He let go of his sword and realized he had let go of his cracker. He bent down to look for it.

As he turned and twisted, looking for the ration, he heard a crunch underneath his left foot. Stepping back, he revealed the cracker. It was broken into bits and mixed in with the snow. Letting out another sigh, he knelt down and started picking out tiny bits of cracker. I hope Levaris has food.

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