Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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"Well... If I'll become a great warrior or not, that isn't really the problem here…" Dale said awkwardly

'I'm very excited to learn, but there are some things I need to understand first...'

"So, before we start, can I ask some questions?"

"Yes you can, but don't get ahead of yourself, I'll be teaching you nothing today as you need rest for now."

"Your body needs time to get used to its current state, if we start drawing out its Prime Origin, some problems may rise, and I'm not talking about the short term, but about the long term." Tina said as she turned around, walking back to her chair

"First, why didn't you tell the others about…"

But he stopped the moment he noticed her pained expression.

"There were many times when I thought about telling them that I'm a witch, and long ago, I tried..."

Her gaze grew distant as she remembered something in the distant past, of a face she barely recognized anymore...

"I found someone like you, someone I thought could become a Warrior that would one day protect us… Someone with dreams and aspirations... With the will to follow through Hell and achieve what laid beyond it."

"Unfortunately… He didn't make it… Failing."

"As willpower alone was not enough..."

"I… Didn't want to risk anyone else's lives, and overtime, I grew stale and stuck to a routine that didn't really accomplish anything."

"Although that passiveness of mine may have sunk us even deeper into the mud…"

"Time passed and I got old, and before I knew it, I was incapable of helping anymore."

Dale shook his head.

"Don't blame yourself, the Village's previous condition was the result of many decades of problems, accumulating over time, it wasn't your fault."

'Even if she had helped, perhaps nothing would've changed, a few stronger warriors wouldn't save the Village.'

"... Thank you." She said with a small smile

"Still, after seeing your potential, I have started to bear thoughts about it, and it may be time for me to try again."

"Everyone is trying their hardest, and I have already seen 2 candidates that could follow you, and one candidate to succeed me… Even though there won't be a need to do so anytime soon." She said with a chuckle

"As for the others… I checked them long ago, and they weren't compatible, nevertheless, that may not be the case now, time can change people…"

"It may be time for me to see if they are suitable, we need all the help we can get."

"Don't force yourself if you feel uncomfortable about it." Dale commented

'All of the Elders are strong already, but stronger doesn't necessarily mean better.'

"Oh my, I should be the one saying that, not you brat." She said with a small smile

"But is that all?"

He shook his head.

"I have a few more... What are Devils?"

"Ahh… I thought you were going to ask such a thing eventually." Tina said with a pensive gaze

"Devils are similar to Demons, but simultaneously completely different."

"Barbaric beasts that possess a shred of intelligence, being neither man nor beast, but a mutation between both, if you could even say that they were once men... This is what a Devil is.'

"Very different from Demons that possess higher intelligence and are often known for dealing with Magic and other such practices, while also being extremely cruel and vicious, receiving their fame for being extremely brutal."

"Demons also often live beyond the limit of our psyche, with their forms and actions often inducing madness upon those that witness it, hence, no matter what era, all sorts of practices that involve them are profoundly frowned upon."

"The only exception are the Churches since their aim is normally religious enlightenment and communion, such chaotic beings are completely against their practices, so they are often at odds, so much so each Church often has its own forces dedicated to eliminating such creatures and upholding what they believe to be justice."

"It also comes to mind that exterminating Demons is very good towards attracting followers..."

"The other group would be Demon Hunters, they have a proper name but I forgot what they were called... These people, despite doing the same job as the Church, aren't as popular or seen in a good light due to the fact they... Have a record of committing more mistakes than fixing problems."

"As to where Devils came from, I'll have to leave you hanging on that as I do not know, perhaps, there is no one that truly knows…"

"Some say they are a remnant of a greater civilization, a failed experiment, or what became of their citizens, others say they hail from further away, few even claim they came from darker, more terrible places within our own world…"

"The thought of such a thing once gave me shivers, now I find it lackluster..." Tina said in an emotionless tone

"But to me, they are simply vicious creatures that need to be eliminated on sight, Devils can grow very fast as they grow from preying on other creatures, they can mutate extremely fast, and grow in unpredictable ways."

"If you ask Testros, he may give you a more intrinsic explanation due to the fact the Southern Corps was made to deal with them as one of their many objectives."

"But to us, Devils are prevenient mainly from beyond the wall, it was the entire reason why it was built in the first place."

"Still, from what you told me, there are practices that involve them dating much earlier than the construction of the Wall." Dale asked as he remembered what he said before

"I'm glad you paid attention to it, and yes. But what made you think that Humanity only made contact with Demons and Devils after they decided to take over the South?"

"Long ago, Humans already lived in the South, it was only after the Devils came that they were forced to go away. But such a story is so old that even I question its veracity."

"A story so old most people believe Humans never once lived here… A story of before the Kingdom's existence."

"There are many tales regarding the origins of Witches and their relations with Devils, but I mostly believe that our practices came from a place further away."

"I think the same way about the Devils, as I find it hard to think of a Devil as a natural creature of our wilderness..."

"This is how old our practices are, but don't think they're obsolete, they've been improved and perfected over many years..."

"Even I had my fair share of studies into it, even if I had decided to abandon them halfway through…"

"Let me tell you, I was quite talented, and as you can see, that talent still remains." She said with a small smile

"I see… Things are starting to make more sense now that I have a context..."

"On that note, how did you become a witch?... How do you become one even?"

Tina remained silent for half a minute before she said:

"... Those are questions better left for later." She said deeply as she closed her eyes

Noticing she didn't want to talk about it, Dale nodded and asked:

"Thank you for answering, these were all of the questions I had."

"It's okay sweetie, make sure to rest well as things will become harder from here on out." She said with a smile

"Right…"

'Last week was already Hell, so what'll happen this time? I'll be sent to the Abyss?'

Dale gave her a slight nod and left.

With a few more answers about his new powers, Dale made his way to the next stop… Barme.

There were some things he had to collect, the equipment he had left with close to 2 weeks ago.

It was most likely done, and Dale would need any help he could get if he wants to survive out there.

As for his Quest... He would remember about it later since right now, he forgot.

… <subtxt> . </subtxt>

/Around half an hour later outside of the Village…/

/SHUA SHUA!/

The wind was relentless, attacking a convey nonstop as if wanting to bury it here forever, together with the ruins and shadows of the past.

/Galop! Galop!/

/Huff huff!/

But the Basilotoses were persistent, they took step after step in the hot sand without stopping…

(Image?)

And like that, they were finally out!

Slowly, small plants could be seen bursting from the ground, fighting for their lives in the great desert...

In the distance, a lush forest could be seen, and in the way, a large wall surrounding a church on a hill… It was Resko, the Village furthest in the South.

The Convey had finally arrived after 2 weeks of travel time.

"Miss, we've arrived." The driver said towards the two ladies inside the wagon

"Finally!" Erile said out loud as she got up

She grabbed the edge of the wagon and put her head outside to see what was going on, and was immediately fascinated.

From her perspective, it seemed as if the Church was being illuminated by golden rays falling down from the clouds in the sky.

A City covered by large walls at the edge of a great desert...

It made everything just more… Meaningful.

"I arrived." She said deeply, sobbing slightly

'Is this what you wanted me to do... Grandma?'

'I'm afraid… Being so far away from home.'

'What I have to do, what I was tasked to do… It's overwhelming.'

'Was this how you felt all those years? What did you know that you kept to yourself? I don't know if I'm strong enough to do it…'

'I miss you…'

/You are a big girl now, don't cry.../

She remembered her grandma's words, biting her lips as she closed her eyes.

"Erile?" Her guard, Fey, asked

She wiped down the little tears that were forming in her eyes and said:

"Sand got into my eyes… But we did it."

"Yes, miss… We did it." Fey said with a smile as she stared at the distance

'It is already impressive such a place even exists, I thought the entirety of the South had been abandoned long ago… But it seems there were indeed some pockets of it left.'

'I didn't quite believe in the reports, but they were completely right.'

'I wonder, what does the young lady intend to find here… To observe and witness?'

'She couldn't have decided this on a whim, just what happened to her?'

"Hm?"

She looked in front of her to see a group of people, they were all using armor and had weapons in their hands…

They were the player killers! Or a group of it… But what did they want with them?

"Stay behind me, those are bandits." Fey said deeply as she pulled Erile back into the cart

Albeit there was no way to confirm what they were, her instincts told her so.

The more a player kills, the redder their names become as if it was drenched in blood, which, for the NPCs, was the same as walking around with a pair of bloodied daggers.

Albeit mechanically, that just means bigger and bigger downsides for the players.

"How do you know from this distance?"

"I can see it from their eyes and the Aura they have, their clothes are also stained with blood…"

"..."

Erile wanted to retort, but she wasn't a naive child, she trusted her guard, and if she said they were bandits, then that's what they were.

She looked at the driver and he nodded, it wasn't his first time dealing with road bandits before.

So he stopped the cart and started talking with the bandits.

In the meantime…

"Hide here Erile." Fey said as she started to grab her weapons

"Are you going outside? We have guards already…"

"I know, these are just in case things take a wrong turn, I'll never leave your side." She said with a smile as she took a step into the sand

"I hope I didn't get rusty, it has been some time since my swords spilled blood." Fey said deeply as her hand went to her hilt

"..."

'She can get awfully triggered when my safety is at risk, even though this situation is completely safe…'

As she thought, a dozen guards wearing desert clothing, with most of their bodies hidden to avoid the sun, made their way to the front of the convoy.

One of them stopped and looked at Fey, the two nodded to each other before he threw a bow and a quiver full of arrows at her.

After that, he continued walking.

"Will everything be okay?" Erile asked her guard

"Yes it will, everyone here are Elites from the Mercenary Guild, a few road bandits shouldn't really be a problem…"

"What's on my mind is something else though, and it's the very existence of these bandits."

"Indeed..." Erile said deeply, she had also understood how strange this situation was

"Road bandits suggest that traffic is common in this area, but according to the records, the last people to ever travel through this area were the Mercenary Guild, and that was years ago."

"Also, unless the entire Village in the distance has turned to banditry, it wouldn't make sense for them to be this close, worse, how did they even predict our arrival?"

"What I just said breaks apart if you think for a bit, why would a Village in a secluded area turn to banditry for sustenance? It makes no sense…"

"So who are those people? They can't be average bandits… Perhaps not even that at all."

While Fey was in deep thought, Erile looked at the sky and asked:

"What is that?"

She put her hands on top of her eyes, trying to block the light from the sun, but she failed o figure out what it was.

Fey gazed towards the Sky, and her vision trembled.

"Lookout young lady!" She exclaimed as she grabbed her

/BOOOM!/

The sand exploded in front of the convoy as if a meteor had just crashed into it.

All of the bandits disappeared, it was unknown what happened to them.

/Shua.../

But as the dust settled, the faint figure of a tall armored man and a massive sword could be discerned...

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Notes

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