Chapter 11: Chapter 10 – The Wrath of Rai’ga

For at least five minutes I sat there trying to make sense of what was happening. Did I experience the future while I slept? While I've had a bunch of extraordinary events happen to me in quick succession, even that sounds like a ridiculous answer to me.
"You seem deeply troubled little one."
Whoops, I've been lost in my own thoughts and not listening to them at all.
"Sorry master it's just..."
Would they believe me? Let's think for a minute here, there has to be some sort of info I have that will help me... Oh right!
"Hera, remember back at the camp when I wanted info on the merchants guild and where they send the female slaves?"
"I do, and I also remember saying that I wanted to hear your story first. Why are you pivoting already?" Hera seemed a little annoyed, but she's misunderstanding where I'm going with this.
"No that's not it, I'm not trying to make you talk first. In fact I already know what you're going to say. Your spy in the merchants guild had reported to your higher ups that they lost a secret hideout of theirs right? Everyone's dead, down to the last man. I know this because you told me yesterday... err, I mean today."
Hera took on a face that reminded me of when I first met her, that can't be good?
"Eve... where did you acquire that information?" Well she's on alert, wonderful.
"Ugh, it was from you. Time somehow went backwards, it's March 17th still right? This is all a repeat from yesterday unless you three are playing a joke on me. What can I say that will convince the three of you?"
Jasper spoke up, "Is there anything else from... yesterday? That would help us believe you Eve? Just so you know, I find this highly difficult to believe, but also I don't see any merit in you making it up."
"... Nothing that I can think of. We talked about how I was originally Eve, a slave girl in that very compound that got wiped out. It was done by a Raven Eldritch who suddenly appeared in the compound."
"Eve, assuming this is true, I'm sure it's a pain reciting it all again, but could you please?" Master solemnly replied.
"If you want Master. It's not that repeating it bothers me, it's this entire situation in general."
I recited the tale for them again. This time their replies were more along the lines of them asking me what they said last time.
"I see... hmm. How about this Eve? For now go relax and enjoy the town, and we'll see if it happens again okay? Because if it happens again, we're going to have a major problem on our hands." Master finally spoke after I recited everything from memory.
He's right, if this keeps happening... what could it even be? Could this go on forever? I don't even want to imagine what that would be like.
I got up out of the chair and immediately departed out of the inn. It's a shame but this is the second day in a row I'm not in the mood to enjoy the sights. My worries from yesterday seem so minuscule in scale compared to what I'm worried about today. If I didn't want to do anything yesterday, it's no surprise I'm not in the mood today.
Sitting down on a bench I just stare mindlessly out into the dead forest for awhile, listening to the vague sounds of life. Apparently there are still little critters and birds alive out here, but not many. Or they all migrated to a place that's not so dead. I wonder how they survive when it goes down to 0-20 degrees during the blackouts? These little creatures that have the deck stacked against them somehow found the will and means to survive, I really shouldn't be whining about every little thing that doesn't go my way... I missed the sounds of birds so much. I remember when I was a kid I wanted one as a pet, but those monsters that sold me wouldn't buy me one, kind of obvious why now that I think back on it. Serah told me those two were gambling addicts so I doubt they're still alive, but it could be worth looking into at some point in the future.

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This ceiling is starting to look cursed. Wasting no time I open the door and the next thing I hear is "She's finally awake! EVE GET DOWN HERE!"
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"So that's what happened?" Master said with a sad look on his face. I can't help but think Master has believed me on both days so far. Meanwhile the other two are lost in their own thoughts again while staring at me. "... One question Eve, was the light from The Wrath of Rai'ga seen at the church?" Master continued.
"Oh, that's a good question Master. It is looking strange right now after all." Jasper added in.
"I'm sorry you two, but what is 'The Wrath of Rai'ga'? It sounds familiar but I can't remember what it is."
"Well that's all the proof I need to believe you were stuck in a cave your whole life. There is no mistaking The Wrath of Rai'ga for anything else and you sure as hell wouldn't forget it." Hera finally spoke up. Same as yesterday she was mostly silent till now.
"It's the Eldritch at the top of the church. But don't ever call him an Eldritch Eve, always call him a god out in public like this, or the church will stop at nothing to capture you. I'm only doing it now because nobody is here and our guild isn't exactly on good terms with them, mostly because they house such a being and worship it like a literal god. The Kitsune god was the only Eldritch we were ever friendly with." Master said with a smile at the end.
Oh that reminds me, I was always curious about something.
"Master, how come the church is filled with beings of all races, but none of them took on the hybrid form of their god like the Kitsune did?"
"Oh that's simple, the god they worship has no interest in molding them in his image. Even I have never met Rai'ga in person, but... this will take awhile to explain Eve, are you sure you want to hear this now? I'd prefer I remember having this conversation. If what I'm thinking is correct, then we've still got many days to go. Follow me outside for a bit." Master got up out of his chair with the other two following in unison.
As I walk outside and look to the northeast with the others, instantly I understand what Hera was saying about not forgetting it. The thick clouds surprisingly don't block out much light, so our moon is still quite bright out when it's not during the blackout. Even on a bright warm day like this, you can still see a golden light shining brightly far off in the distance.
"Alright, that's definitely something people wouldn't forget. How often does this happen?"
"It use to be a very rare sight... once every ten years about? The past two years we've seen it five times. There is two god's out there earning influence deep into the northwest end of the continent." Jasper said, his brow furrowed. "The church sends out its inquisitors, they find 'corruption', and Rai'ga incinerates the entire town."
To my left I could see Master narrowing his eyes. "They've been sending demands to the guild asking us to do something about the Eldritch there. Time after time, all they find are their worshipers with no sign of the Eldritch anywhere. I sent two of my best teams this time... I was starting to worry since I haven't received any messages in awhile, which is not like them at all. Now I'm seeing Rai'ga preparing to blast another town. It's obvious what has happened to my teams." Masters said, his face now a full-blown scowl.
Hera leaned over, whispering in my ear. "Master Godwin's granddaughter was in one of those groups. He was personally heading there with Jasper to check on her, before Benedict delayed him."
"I'm sorry little Eve, I truly did intend on personally training you, but it looks like I'll only have till Rai'ga finishes casting..." Master added, his eyes still locked on the golden light shimmering on the horizon.
"It's okay Master I understand. Are you personally going to deal with the Eldritch there, or heading to the church?"
"First I'm going to where I sent my teams, which is also the location the church designated in the request. Unfortunately it's impossible for me to get there before the entire area is nothing more than incinerated piece of land. Eve, I believe you regarding the fact that time is rewinding. If you told me before seeing this light, I was probably skeptical but also doing my best to believe you. Now however..." Master trailed off.
"We've always suspected there was two gods in the church. Our spies have indicated there is another part of the church underground behind Rai'ga that only a select few are allowed to enter. Plus, it was only one time, but our spy bumped into a girl who had a taint on her soul that was different from Rai'ga." Hera continued. "Rai'ga is very old, so it's no surprise he has the ether supply required to fire off a spell of that magnitude. The ability to rewind time though... I'm still on the fence Eve, that's just ridiculous no matter what angle I look at it from. The amount of ether required to do that even once over this entire moon must be astronomical, and impractical. Do the other moons also experience this? Is it only us? If I'm to fully accept that we're going back in time, there is nothing but questions and only one vague answer at this point. On that note, I at least understand why Master is warming up to the idea. The light we're seeing has never looked like this, it was always much much brighter and fired off the same day we saw it. Master, you think his spell that always looked instant, is in fact a charged spell?" Hera said, looking at Master.
"Indeed, that is my guess. It was always strange how he would cast a spell of that magnitude in a single day. The other Eldritch in the church must be keeping time static so his targets have no time to flee. Which would indicate that all Eldritch don't lose their memories, it must have something to do with the soul. Merely being tainted, or taking on half the form of your god is not enough, or any random Kitsune would've informed the humans around them that something weird was going on. That would also give credence to the fact that my newest disciple believes herself to be part-monster. If I'm right, that means you're way more than a monster little Eve." Master replied, still looking ahead.
"But... that doesn't make sense? His targets would be the Eldritch in the northwest corrupting villagers and taking on worshipers right? Then that means they are not affected by time rewinding, and have time to flee."
"I doubt he cares Eve. Most likely he's just eliminating any village that has willing servants to another god. The only reason the Kitsune god and the Nei'lah survived, was because the former immediately initiated diplomacy and swore themselves as an underling to the church, while the latter promised to leave the moon with its followers. The church had its warriors escort their entire race to the portal along with their god, and they were never seen again." Jasper said, his expression solemn.

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"That's why they are bombarding us with requests to find the Eldritch and eliminate them. That's the point of our guild after all, killing monsters and Eldritch. However the church never tries to understand how difficult it is to bring down an Eldritch. First, you never know how old the being is, so you could be hunting a newborn with few abilities and little ether, which is still a challenge but it's nothing compared to fighting one like the Eldritch in the frozen wastes beyond the mountains. The other issue is that every Eldritch is completely different from the next. So past searching souls for taint, you're essentially going in blind. You never know what their abilities are, how old they are, whether they rely on their strength, cunning, corruption, etc. There is way too many factors that go into a hunt. It's very rare that a new god pops up and we're able to locate it and eliminate it soon after. The fact that my hunters were most likely killed, leading to Rai'ga deciding that area is a lost cause, is very worrying. I can't imagine a scenario where they weren't able to, at the very least, get a message out to tell us what they learned. I'm lead to believe we're dealing with a very intelligent and old Eldritch, which is the worst kind of hunt possible." Master added, likely for my benefit.
"How long do you think this is going to take? I can think of a few times where living the same day multiple times would've helped me, but right now all it's doing is giving me time to relax. Which I'm definitely enjoying, I've never been able to relax before."
"Hmm... hard to say. We'll know when he's ready to fire off that spell from the way it looks. Right now it looks to be barely ten percent as bright as it normally is." Jasper replied.
"Ten percent?! Well good thing I'm enjoying my first break in life I suppose. Sounds like this is going to take awhile."
"Just relaxing? You should have master teach you how to create your mental world. You're severely lacking in the basics, this is a good opportunity for it." Hera said, looking me in the eyes.
"You really do have beautiful eyes. Oh I know, I'll use this opportunity to find myself some lonely ladies."
"HA! Now that's a great idea Eve! I wish you had become my disciple before everything went to hell." Master replied while laughing. It feels good seeing him not making such a pained face anymore.
Hera shakes her head in response to that, while Jasper took on a more serious face.
"Eve that reminds me, why did you try and court that married lady back at the village we met in?"
Oh wow, I completely forgot about that. It really seemed to bother him when the captain told him about it.
"Kitsune who believe in the teachings of our... their god, are very loyal. That lady was one such person. I had to wash clothes by the river every day, and on one of the days I noticed her husband was flirting with some other women there, even in earshot of his wife. So I went over to her and did my best at trying to seduce her, but she was completely loyal to him. All he did was glare at me so I kind of forgot about it till that day you were conversing with the captain. That bum went and filed a complaint about me it seems."
"What was the purpose exactly? Show him the error of his ways?" Jasper replied. How long is this interrogation going to continue?
"I have no idea what the purpose was Jasper, maybe I'm just not a nice person? I was a slave my whole life, my sister and old friend had just died, and I was stuck in some strangers body living with a family who treated me like shit. I was only there a few days before I ran into Steward, but I left a lot of angry people in my wake. Why are we having this conversation when you're not going to remember it anyways? I'd rather not do this again."
"She makes a good point Jasper. I've always told you you're too strict on others when it comes to morals. You're free to have your own style, but don't force that onto my new pupil." Master continued. "For now all we can do is wait. Everyone split up and enjoy your day, we'll see how things stand tomorrow."
With that said, we all went our own way. Jasper didn't look upset at all. I'm guessing Master has had to say that to him a lot over the years.
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And just like Master suspected, the area to the northeast was slightly brighter than it was the day before. It's already near enough to make me feel like I'll go blind from staring directly at it for only a few seconds, I can't even imagine what it's going to look like when it's fully charged.
"Well Eve? How much would you say it increased?" Master interrupted my thoughts.
"Hmm... maybe just a bit? I'm gonna say ten percent brighter than yesterday but it's honestly hard to put it into numbers. This is clearly going to take longer than a week, should we start my training?"
"That we should! Casting invisibility through a darkness aura without even knowing the basics, what a unique pupil." Master smiled, waving me back towards the inn.
Once we were back in my room, he had me lay down on the bed and try to relax as much as possible.
"Normally it takes new mages a long time to get to the point of creating a mental palace because they first need to spend months learning how to properly mold ether. Somehow you're already fine on that front, so the actual creation of your own world should be simple. You said you've learned the process in the past?" Master said, sitting down on the bed opposite my own.
"Yes in the compound multiple times. At one point there was no room, so they were training a new enforcer right there in our corner of the workshop for weaving. That place had a ton of traffic Master, how did nobody ever find it..."
"Hmm, not sure little one. For now focus on your training, we'll figure out the rest later. First, imagine the world you want, how it looks, smells, everything. Then you mold your ether and try to 'create' it, like casting a spell. Simple right? You'd think something this useful would take a lifetime to learn, but somehow the creation process is quite easy. Modifying it to slow down time inside or have sounds from your body enter that world is a bit more difficult though."
I don't know if the word lucky applies to me, but I'm definitely lucky to have run into this man. I'm just now remembering that I wanted to call him bear. That nickname feels wrong now, even though he really does look like a bear (although I've only seen one in a drawing when I was a child).
As much as I love birds and trees, I always loved the sight of space more. Oh, how about I do both? A piece of land floating in space... not a bad idea.
Thinking up a landmass in the middle of space surrounded by stars was as easy as Master said it would be.
I spent the next thirty minutes slowly changing the world here and there. Adding grass, trees, birds, a pond, stars, and planets off in the distance.
"Master, this is... a lot of fun! I'd love to sit here for the next week just playing around with this."
Master laughed, "All new mages experience what you are feeling right now, including me when I was younger. But remember this Eve, too many mages get obsessed with their own world, ignoring the real world to the point of death. You can create anything you want there after all, including people you desire."
"Whoa... that really does sound dangerous. You might just be trying to scare me though, I need proof. Hang on let me try creating Hera in a see-through one pie--"
Suddenly I felt a gigantic fist smash into my thigh.
"OWWW oh my god that hurts! Okay okay I get it! I won't try creating my own paradise. This is purely for training..."
"Even without men or women, it's a world of your own. Don't discount how healthy it will be for you mentally to be able to retreat to that place, from the current harsh reality of this world. Making sure you don't become obsessed with your own world is paramount Eve. The amount of stories in the noble world of young men dying or becoming addicts is endless. One of the boys had fallen in love with Princess Euphemia, leading him to creating her in his own world. The next time there was a gathering, the stupid boy had done something to the real Euphemia that his fake loved. Furthermore, creating people that look, feel, and act normal, is really difficult. That's another reason I'd prefer you didn't go down that path." Master replied, pushing a pack of ice to my thigh. When did he get that?
"You don't need to do that Master. The throbbing already stopped and there won't be muscle pain."
"Fast healing too? There has to be negatives to that, another issue we'll have to figure out another time." Master said, dropping the ice pack on the table.
"Alright I think I'm done for now, it doesn't need to be perfect on day one. So how do I enter this place? And exit for that matter. It's interesting how I can feel it somewhere in the corner of my mind."
"It's as simple as willing yourself into or out of it. As easy as this part is, don't misunderstand Eve. The work required to learn spells is long and arduous. First we'll need to figure out your elements. Darkness is obviously one of them but... I don't even know where to begin with that. When time goes back to normal I'll have the guild communicator ask the bookkeepers at the main office find any information they can on darkness magic."
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We continued on like that for another eleven days, slowly learning the elements I'm good at. Turns out I'm average in everything but darkness. Which means I have the ability to learn anything I want like all humans do, but they will be incredibly difficult to cast before I practice with a certain element for many years. The eleventh day was also when Rai'ga finally fired off his spell into the heavens. It went into the clouds, and about fifteen seconds later I could see it coming down out of the clouds far off to the northwest. The sound both from the firing, and the landing, were so loud that I finally remembered why I had heard of 'The Wrath of Rai'ga'. The sound would blast past the cave but the wards weren't enough to keep it all out, including the rumbling. A priest about six months ago had said the phrase when complaining about... something. I can't quite remember the rest.
"Looks like we're finally set. I've seen this several times in my life, so this has to be the day where the moon returns to normal." Jasper sighed. "Well, as normal as this place can get. Also down one more village. Protecting the northwest during the blackout is becoming increasingly more difficult with there being so many gaps in the defensive circle up there."
I was barely listening, my mind was focused on trying to understand what it was that I had just seen. The Wrath of Rai'ga was impressive no doubt, but when it pierced the clouds... I swear I could see something black moving around up there. It seemed to be reaching out across the hole in the cloud, as if it was trying to repair itself.

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