Path of Dragons 16 - Chapter 71 - Broken (Patreon)

“Bullshit.”

“Tell me how you really feel.”

Okar glared at him.  “Your whole life is bullshit, and you know it,” he insisted, and not for the first time.  Elijah had been back on Earth for a few days, and in that time, he’d been reunited with a few of his friends from the Empire of Scale.  Okar was the first to arrive, but he was quickly followed by Imal and Furyo.  Palikina popped up one day as well, accompanied by Bogoni and Kalyn.  Even Ikiajh had eventually come to take Elijah up on his offer of membership into the grove.

The last was the most surprising.  The Farmer had a good life back in the Empire of Scale.  He was a high demigod with an eye toward evolution to deity, and in the empire, he would have been set up for life.  His explanation for why he’d come to Earth was understandable, though.

“I’ll never go past mid-deity back home,” he’d pointed out.  “That’s my limit.  Here, maybe I can make a run at something more.”

Elijah had welcomed him with open arms, much to Nara’s dismay.  When he’d informed her that he wanted to induct Ikiahj into the grove, she’d pointed out that they had a well-established process they needed to follow.  She’d gone on and on about vetting and earning the right of inclusion into the grove.

Elijah had ignored it.

He appreciated everything that Nara did for the grove, but at the end of the day, it was his grove.  If he wanted to include someone, then he would.  And he definitely trusted Ikiahj.

The ceremony had been understated and barely qualified as such.  Only a handful of people had been present, including Nara and Nerthus.  Otherwise, they’d just grabbed whoever was around. 

After that, Ikiajh had gotten to work and put his head together with Davika. 

But the meeting wouldn’t last long, because Ikiajh had also agreed to head back to the ancestral world, where his expertise would be instrumental in Fungee reaching his vast potential. 

Elijah was looking forward to getting a real Farmer’s direct input, even if he was dreading it a bit.  After all, he wasn’t a Farmer himself, and he knew that his makeshift efforts would fall far short of a perfectionist like Ikiajh’s standards. 

That was a good thing, though.

Or that was what Elijah kept telling himself.

In any case, he told Okar, “I think you might’ve mentioned that a few times.”

“A few hundred,” Sara muttered.

“Am I wrong?!” Okar bellowed, slamming his mug down.  “You’re not supposed to be able to just jump back and forth out of an ancestral world!  It’s ridiculous!  It defeats the whole purpose!  It’s –”

“Bullshit,” everyone said in unison.

Okar’s mouth fell open as he tried to think up a response.  His sudden inability to speak elicited a collective peal of laughter.  After he’d endured that for a moment, he slumped down in his chair and stared at his mead while muttering about not getting any respect.

Sara rubbed his back in an effort to comfort him.

Elijah sampled his own drink, which was a beer that tasted a little different than normal.  More bitter, but not in a bad way.  It was also extraordinarily strong, the product of Valosta, which had become one of Earth’s hubs for alcohol production.  It had obviously come a long way since Elijah’s first visit, after which he’d created the Moon Well and first met Trevor and his family.

Thoughts of the stag brough Elijah’s attention to his nephew.

Miguel had grown.  Not in terms of physical size, but rather, in presence.  He’d long passed into demigod territory, and despite getting a later start than most of the planet’s elite, he’d established himself as one of the ten most powerful people on Earth.  According to Carmen, he was level three-eleven.

Which just highlighted how lucky Elijah had been to get the opportunities he’d been granted.  Leveling on Earth – or even the other worlds to which they had access, including the once-abandoned Kardesh as well as Kirlissa’s territory – had proven to be a slow proposition. 

Miguel had also spent a good bit of time in the Hartwood Grove.  Partially because he considered protecting it his responsibility, but mostly because that was where his family was.  As enticing as it was to go out and gain power, he’d decided that raising his son was more important.

Elijah respected that about his nephew.

And he wondered if he could have made a similar choice.  He wanted to believe that he could, but there was a part of him that questioned it.  Sitting still had never been his strong suit, and that need to explore – to wander – had only grown stronger as he’d gained power. 

Thankfully, that had yet to become an issue for him.

Imal leaned closer to him, and he adjusted his arm over her shoulder.  She had been working incredibly hard as well, and as a result, she’d actually gained a few levels.  Considering that she was still in the middle of the Great Wall, that was an impressive feat in and of itself.  On top of that, she had also managed to gain some ground in her cultivation, pushing her body to the fourth tier.  And she claimed that she was close to taking the next step with her soul.

She still lagged far behind Elijah, but her strides put her in the top one or two percent of people her level.  Even in a place like the Empire of Scale, where standards were much higher than they were on Earth.

She also hadn’t been particularly happy when he told her about his dinner with Sadie, but in the end, she told him that he’d earned her trust.  The second that was gone, then the relationship would be over.  She had said it so matter-of-factly that her seriousness had never been in question.  Imal would put up with a lot, but never that.

Not that Elijah would do anything to betray that trust.  He wasn’t that kind of person, which he kept reminding himself every time thoughts of Sadie popped into his mind.  Thankfully, he and the others would soon be back in Orveth Kaal where he wouldn’t need to think about her.

Carmen, who was sitting across the table with Anupriya, had also been hard at work.  The prospect of going into the ancestral world had lit a fire under her, pushing her to work on her own cultivation.  On top of that, she’d been working like a madwoman to organize the Tradesmen who would hopefully adapt the Vengeance for Earth’s use.

It was like she’d rediscovered her purpose.

Or climbed free of a boredom-induced malaise.

Which was probably accurate.  She’d spent years iterating on the same thing, and even though she was an unabashed perfectionist, she had clearly grown frustrated with the miniscule improvements she could make.  Elijah giving her the conduits as well as the cannons and, most importantly, the spear, had reawakened her crafting spirit in a way that nothing else could have.

More than once, Elijah had found his sister-in-law and Anupriya locked in intense discussions about the Vengeance and its future.

The only person at the table who didn’t seem happy was Hope.

She wasn’t coming along, largely because she wasn’t strong enough.  She’d not even reached demigod status, so there was no way she would survive.  Even then, Hope had never been the sort to seek out adventure.  No – she preferred keeping her feet planted in the Grove or working in her shop in Ironshore. 

She was good at it, too.

In that way, she was much like her father, who’d all but abandoned a life of combat.  From a perspective of raw talent, he was the best battle Healer Elijah had ever seen – even better than the dragons – but he clearly hated fighting.  He was happiest in his clinic working alongside Jess, and he only really left Ironshore when there was an outbreak of healing-resistant disease somewhere else in the world.

Of course, he’d refused when Elijah asked him to come along.  That was probably the rational decision, especially given the number of people that had died in the demigod trial.  The deity trial would obviously be far more dangerous, just by virtue of the increased ethereal density.

The orcs were still reeling, but they would recover.  When they did, they would attack.

That was why Elijah intended to contact the Vyrin expedition.  He might not trust them all, but he knew that Illska had his best interests at heart.  She wouldn’t put up with disrespect or sabotage.

Hopefully, the Earth expedition could work with the deities to gain insight as well as feats of strength.  Maybe some of them would even progress far enough to step into the next realm.  Probably not.  Even Elijah didn’t expect to bridge that gap.  But it was technically possible, especially for some of his friends from the Empire of Scale. 

Imal was the closest, but Okar wasn’t far behind.  Ikiahj was next in line, followed by Furyo and Palikina, who were neck and neck.  Bogoni was a bit behind them, with Elijah bringing up the rear.

Despite all his progress, he’d had much further to go due to his starting position. 

Elijah’s mind wandered toward the details of the expedition, Fungee’s disposition, and the upcoming foray into the ancestral world.  As far as he knew, he’d done everything he could to set people up for success.  Now, it was up to others to ensure that it went smoothly.

That didn’t keep him from dwelling on it.

Which was why he barely noticed when people started filtering out of the restaurant, which they’d commandeered for their get-together.  It had cost an arm and a leg, but Sara had taken care of those negotiations.  She had also handled the guest list, turning quite a few people away. 

Elijah didn’t know any of them.

It was just further evidence that his fame had grown far too ubiquitous.  He could barely walk down the street without people taking photos.

“I’m going back to the island,” Imal said, squeezing his arm.

“I’ll be there in a little while,” Elijah said, not wanting to leave just yet. 

She nodded and left.

Then, less than an hour later and almost without him noticing it, Elijah was all alone.  He remained there for a few more minutes until he saw the restaurant staff’s exhausted expressions.  Once he noticed that, he pushed himself to his feet and left.  Upon stepping outside, he was greeted by the smell of smoke and rain.

Glancing to the side, he saw none other than his nephew leaning against the wall.

Little Eli was all but grown.  What’s more, he was older than Elijah had first estimated, probably because he enjoyed very loose relationship with the passage of time.  As such, he’d probably overestimated Eli’s age when he left for Orveth Kaal. 

The young man looked a lot like his father, but there was enough of Hope’s looks to make him appear distinct.  But Elijah couldn’t help but recognize that Eli had his grandfather’s eyes. 

He was also smoking something that didn’t smell like a cigarette.

“You know those things will kill you, right?”

Eli flicked the ashes away.  “So I’ve been told.”

“You excited about your awakening?”

“Done already.”

“Huh?”  Elijah asked.

“Been that way for about six months,” Eli answered.

“You tell your parents that?”

Eli shook his head.  “Not yet.”

“Your grandmother?”

He shrugged. “She’s been busy.”

“Anyone?”

He once again shook his head.

“Why not?” Elijah asked, leaning next to him. 

“I don’t know.  Didn’t want to, I guess.  And they’re so wrapped up in their own things that they didn’t even notice,” Eli explained.  “I think Miss Nara knows, but she hasn’t said anything.”

“Why are you telling me?” Elijah asked.  Now that he was standing so close, he could definitely feel that Eli had awakened.  Comparatively, his degree of power was so low that it was easy to miss, though.  Once, that wouldn’t have been the case, but Elijah had spent the past decade in a well-saturated environment where ethereal signatures tended to hit like a ton of bricks.  Feeling a pinprick like Eli’s aura was much more difficult. Noticing it was even more so.

“Figured you would’ve figured it out one way or another,” Eli answered.  “Plus…I wanted to ask your advice.”

“About?”

“I don’t know what I want to be.”

“What archetype did you choose?” Elijah asked.

“Healer.”

Elijah cast his senses toward Eli, searching for his attunement.  He couldn’t always differentiate between them, but in his great-nephew’s case, he could feel a handful of powerful threads.  The strongest among them was his nature attunement, but there were others as well. 

“That’s great.  You can follow in your grandfather’s footsteps,” Elijah said.  It wasn’t really what he’d expected, especially with that attunement.  But the world always needed Healers.

“I don’t know.  I don’t want to…I don’t want to just sit in a clinic.  And I’m not sure if I want to join the grove…”

“What?  Why not?”

Eli didn’t answer, but Elijah could intuit a few potential reasons.  The first probably came from his identity.  Because he was related to Elijah, expectations would be high.  Add his parents to the mix – as well as his grandparents – and everyone would anticipate big things from him.  That would inevitably create a lot of pressure.

The other was that, despite having the attunement, he might not really feel a connection to nature.  Sure, he’d had all the benefits of growing up in the grove, but was that a true attunement?  Or was it manufactured?  Did it really represent who he was?  Or was it a measure of what everyone wanted him to be?

Eli likely had no idea, so Elijah definitely wouldn’t figure it out.

“Tell me why you chose Healer.”

“I…I heard stories about Grandpa.  About all the things he did in the Trial of Primacy.  About how he saved people.  And not in a clinic, either.  He was out there in the middle of it all.  That’s what I want.”

“It’s a dangerous path.”

Eli shrugged. “That’s not why I want to do it.  I…I just want to help the people who need it most.  And…one day, I want to be there for my dad.”

“I see.”

“Are you going to tell my mom?”

“No.  That’s your story to tell,” Elijah said.  “But I will give you this piece of advice – tell everyone soon.  They deserve to know.  And if you want, I can talk to some people and get you some proper training.”

“I’ve done all the combat training with everyone else.”

“That’s a good start.  But I’m talking about something a lot more intensive,” Elijah stated.  “Think hard about whether you want it, though.  It will be incredibly difficult.  The hardest thing  you’ve ever done.  But if you want to be effective, I know some people who can ensure that you meet your potential.”

“I…would I have to leave?”

“You would.”

“I’ll need to think about it.”

“Think fast, because it won’t be long before I head into Orveth Kaal.”

“I will.”

With that, he pushed himself free of the wall.  Then, he thanked Elijah for listening before heading off into the night.