A Crow's Dream of Clear Skies Chapter 1
A Crow’s Dream of Clear Skies
By Tyeler Phillips
DISCLAIMER – THE FOLLOWING WORK OF FICTION MAY CONTAIN VULGARITY, GRAPHIC CONTENT, AND SUGGESTIVE SITUATIONS; READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Chapter 0
Gather around kids, let me tell you a story. A story of strife, glory, damsels, and adventure; the tale of Jasper Crowley.
Jasper hails from a hidden village deep in the Yin mountains – where light peeks over the frosted tips of towering spires – known only as Stardew city of the Stardew Valley. Lucky for them, they were indeed cut off from the outside world, for Ragnarok had taken root in the nine realms.
You see, since the dawn of time, Yggdrasil – the tree of life – has been seeded with infestation. This infestation, like termites eating the tree from the inside out has festered and spread over eons.
Ragnarok – the name given to these demonic beasts – live off the land like any other animal in an ecosystem with one exception, they bare a natural maliciousness to sentient life – or put simply, they want anything that resembles mankind six feet under.
For centuries, Stardew has only been inconvenienced by the sporadic Ragnarok here and there – packs of wild Hel hounds, or a dragolisk. This was quick work for the warriors and mages of Stardew. The brave men and women of Stardew defended their home against the ashen pelted demon dogs and overgrown lizards. Yet, overtime, few turned too many.
In recent years, Yggdrasil has considerably weakened. Lands had begun to die. Once lush forest turn to desolate wastelands populated by Ragnarok. Civilization had started to fall of the map. Then, after the fall of his hometown and the death of his loved ones, Jasper sought an item that could turn the tides of a fleeting hope.
He had sought an artifact, one hidden and forgotten by the G.o.ds; having even been erased from all doc.u.mentation. This item that had called to him across the realms; a book filled with unforetold powers. This artifact to which held such explosive potential that the G.o.ds had long locked it away, for even the G.o.ds fear what it could bring.
With that artifact now in hand, the very heavens hunted Jasper Crowley to the ends of the earth. The moment he pulled this book from its forgotten prison, an aura surged throughout the realms. This aura alerted all to the existence of such a powerful book. All yearned for its power, greed slaving their soul. Its emergence sparked a bounty war between heaven and h.e.l.l who enlisted mortal men to do their bidding. The current plateau (offered by Michael of heaven) sits at three point five billion – That’s enough gold to run a city for ten long years.
For these reasons, Jasper was always moving from place to place. He saw many cities, many wastelands, and all the continents, but his travels took him even further than this.
Kings, Lords, Demon’s, and Bandits were say a few of his newly found friends. As the most wanted man in existence, he moves as fast as his legs could carry him, studying the artifact and trying to unlock its secrets.
With our protagonist always on the run, everyday life was lived as far as his legs would carry him – whether that was from city to city or realm to realm. Though he never much cared for the travel.
[Holy Kingdom, Midgard.]
“Step to it men!” Jeanne d’Arc called to her troops.
They raced through a field of wheat after a cloaked traveler.
A flurry of “hyaa!”s filled the air as cavalry increased pace.
The sun met the horizon with a blaze as clouds began to ama.s.s overhead.
“How fast can this man run?” An officer looked perplexed with their situation.
The cloaked man appeared to glide across the wheat like an ebony phantom, effortlessly running with the wind.
Something didn’t seem right to the Jeanne d’Arc. The saint removed her silver helm, unsheathing long golden braids and blue gleaming eyes.
Taking a deep breath still in full pursuit of the cloaked traveler, she took in her surroundings and listened within.
“BARE RIGHT! He’s deceived us!” Her gaze turned to the edge of the ashen great timberlands. There stood a male figure leaning against the base of a tree.
Who, me? The male figure asked with pointing to himself, innocently. He wore rags, covering much of his face, leaving only a single high ponytail of fiery orange hair that reached his lower back and gleaming amethyst eyes that taunted their opponent.
“Saint Jeanne, the timberlands are too thick for cavalry.” The officer announced on the encroach.
“Dismount and aim for the kill!” The order was loud enough to reach the ears of the man on the forests edge.
“Kill… Oi rather not!” He high tailed it towards the timberlands.
“By decree of the heavens, Jasper Crowley, I order you to stop!”
His footsteps came to a blistering halt, pushing a cloud of dirt afore him.
(Jasper would often chronicle Jeanne d’Arc as “Michaels most tenacious huntress on this side of Herodotus.”)
He gritted his teeth, “Bite me, Saint! Perhaps you could pay me a visit when you’re not repenting for Eve’s sins.”
A spear whizzed past his ear, embedding itself into a nearby tree. A tw.a.n.g in its wake.
Wrong choice of words?
“Hold your tongue, heathen!” Saint Jeanne drew an ornate longsword, dazzled with scripture.
“Prove my point, have we?” He put his hands together, gave a calm bow – as if preparing to fight – then scurried off before the knights could react.
“You insufferable- grrrr- Orion Knights, KILL HIM!”
“Oh my-” He sighed between heavy breaths.
His murmur was drowned out by the howls of pursuing knights.
The battalion of expensively armed men and women charged after their prey. These knights were armed for the hunting of legendary beasts and fighting wars; armed to the teeth with the highest quality blades and armor.
Jasper weaved between trees, dodging spears and arrows alike.
Swish. An arrow whizzed past his head, flying far into the forest ahead.
Swish. A javelin hit a trunk with a tw.a.n.g!
Slash. A spear lacerated his arm.
Blood spilled out of the wound just as soon as the spear left it, cascading down his arm and pooling at his fingertips.
Though the cut was deep, it was clean; with a little dressing, it will heal in a few days’ time. I’ll just have to stop the bleeding soon, he thought through the process.
“d.a.m.n, it still hurts like h.e.l.l even if I know that!” He clasped the b.l.o.o.d.y gash.
“Mages, immobilize him.”
Jasper glanced over his shoulder to see light armored men retrieving paper charms from satchels.
[Magic] – It comes in many forms. It can be [Chanted], [Scripted], [Performed], or [Material Bound] – in this case bound to a simple charm for quick use.
He studied the symbols on the charms, planning his next move. “There identical. Water based. An isometric construction means it’s an area of effect. It’s a fractal! [Flash Freeze]!”
As the words left his mouth, the mages readied the charms at their forehead and announced their spell, ‘[Flash Freeze]!’
A bolt of ice tore through the pursuing knights.
For Jasper, time came to a crawl as he vaulted over a tree root the size of an elephant, then about faced to the seven-meter trunk of the ma.s.sive ashen tree. He placed his palms upon the tree, and chanted, “[Ymir, I beseech thee, shove!]”
As if struck by cannon fire, the soaring ashen barked tree turned asunder; shattering into seemingly endless shards of red wood propelled at the Orion knights.
The knights were pelted, like hail – their armor too thick to be pierced.
This was not his intent though. Shards intercepted the volley of [Flash Freeze] before it could leave the vicinity of the knights, activating the spell and placing them in a thick sheet of ice.
With half their troops frozen and chain of command in disarray, Jasper turned to a nearby tree springing from branch to branch until he made his way to the forests canopy.
On his climb, he pulled the raggedy old bound book from his coat pocket.
“Good, still here.” His hand was drenched in blood, now soaking the book. “Oops.” He shook it off and put it pack in his coat pocket.
As he got closer, he noticed trickling rain turned into downpour.
“Have mercy.”
He had hoped to be met by a calm starry sky, but instead was met by a violent thunderstorm. Lightning struck violently all around as clouds began to stir. He must not have noticed the lightning through the rowdy cries of his pursuers.
“Orion Knights and now this?! b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l!” His last words left his lips.
The fatigue from using too powerful a spell caught up to him. He fell – foot losing its grip on the drenched branch – from that hundred-and-seven-meter ashen tree. Although, by the devil’s luck, it wasn’t the fall that killed him; Jasper Crowley was struck by lightning three times before his body hit the ground.
The worst part? His concluding thoughts were not of home or of family; No, he had little room for anything of the sort. His last thought was the excruciating pain of three billion volts coursing through his veins; his body convulsing uncontrollably.
By the devil’s luck. Jasper had evaded the entirety of the world while he studied the artifact and death is brought to him in the form of a one in a quintillion chance.
Alas, this is not the end of our protagonist’s tale, but the beginning of one.
One h.e.l.l of a beginning, ain’t it?
Chapter One
What’s this warm fluffy feeling?
Jasper tried to move his body but he was too weak to do so.
Light began to pour into his eyes, presenting his mother before him.
Mother? Am I dead? So young, and thin?
He pursed his lips, trying to force a word from his mouth.
“Wyaaaaaa!”
“Oh, darling. Are you hungry?”
[Crowley Manner, Eight Years Later]
“The nurse says we have no idea of when he might wake.” Housekeeper Flora L. Fauna conversed with her subordinates. She was like a vibrant marigold glistening in the morning dew with stern emerald eyes and an hourgla.s.s figure. Astonishingly, she was a housekeeper at the youthful age of twenty.
As the Housekeeper, Mrs. Fauna reported directly to the lady of the manner. She directly delegated the housemaids and laundry maids and worked parallel with the cook, nurse’s respective hierarchies within the estate.
“What will we do in the meantime, Mrs. Fauna?” Olivia, one of the youngest maids in employment – about thirteen – seemed almost unnerved in the situation. Short ebony hair framed her downward gaze, as she contemplated her response.
“As servants of the manner, we must attend to the ladies every need. Let us ease what we can in her trouble times.” The words flowed like notes from a Bach, comforting the young woman’s nerves.
“Now, carry on and stay vigilant.”
“Ma’am!” The maids sounded off and elegantly returned to their rightful duty stations.
Moving with no sense of urgency, she leaned against the hand carved wainscot. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around the back of her neck and looked up to the hand painted murals on the ceiling.
A man painted with white wings queued her in.
She clasps her palms together, “G.o.d, please let the lady of the manner be merciful when she returns.” Her hands trembled, fearing the repercussions of her naivety.
On top of her Housekeeper responsibilities, Mrs. Fauna was held accountable for the young master’s wellbeing. Since he was injured, it was on her head.
“Ma’ Lady can’t afford to send for a healer. She barely has a spending budget. I’d better prepare for lashes.”
She placed her thumb between her teeth, biting it in her anxiety.
“What should I-”
Click, click. The sound of a maid’s heels rushed down the west wing.
Olivia stood at the top of the landing, panting. “Master Jasper is waking!”
If anyone could save Mrs. Fauna from punishment, it was Jasper’s word.
She rushed with Olivia back to Jasper’s quarters.
He stirred in his bed, agonizingly. Stirring turned to thrashing.
“Help me hold him down!” Mrs. Fauna rushed to the side of his veiled oak bed placing her hands and full weight on his shoulders.
Olivia soon, followed by pinning his legs.
The two girls struggled against his flailing; even with their full weight, he managed to thrash them around.
A painful, even agonizing, cry came from Jasper as he woke simultaneously flinging the girls off.
He sat, long locks of fiery orange spilling over his trembling hands. They looked smaller to him, but he thought of it only as vertigo.
“It burns. It still burns. I feel every volt of it still coursing through me.”
He clenched his fists, forcing the circulation into his hands. Rolling his shoulders, he yawned then stretched to the ceiling.
As if a lightbulb had lit up, so did his eyes. “Where in Yggdrasil am I?”
He scanned the entirety of the vast room. He sat on the single four post veiled oversized bed between two floor to ceiling windows. From the bed to the other wall were a marble fireplace stood erect was roughly ten meters. And the expanse from the perpendicular walls was eighteen, maybe twenty. Not to mention the walls above the wainscot laid red silk paneling that accented the dark woods used throughout.
His attention focused on the distraught girls. They were picking themselves off the eloquently patterned (obviously, hand-st.i.tched) carpet.
“Master Jasper, are you okay?” Olivia straightened her ap.r.o.n.
Something grabbed hold of Jasper’s tongue. His began to choke up, tears cascading down his cheeks.
“Master Jasper?!” The girls spoke in unison, rushing to his side.
Mrs. Fauna wrapped her arms around him, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“If I’m in the afterlife, why does it hurt?”
“Afterlife?! What do you mean? Master Jasper, you’re very much alive.” She looked down to him.
“H-” He recalled it being a nightmare; memories of his past life. “Sorry, Just another nightmare.”
He often had these nightmares followed by violent awakenings. In this one he recalled his finally moments of his previous life, still able to feel the electricity in his veins at this very moment.
“Master Jasper?” Olivia looked concerned sitting on the side of his bed.
“I’m sorry if I surprised you, Olivia, Mrs. Fauna. Did I sleep too long?”
He knew he couldn’t tell them the truth – that he had just returned from their doomed future.
“Sleep? You fell out of a tree, you’ve been unconscious for three days, and your leg is broken!”
I see. That’s what I told them before I fainted. Couldn’t tell them I was practicing martial arts and kicked an ironwood unwittingly…
“I see.” He looked to his wounded leg. Though it was in a splint, he could feel that it was not set properly. If it wasn’t fixed soon, it’d be very expensive to get the appropriate elixirs.
“As soon as your mother returns tomorrow, we’ll discuss the viability of hiring a healer.” Mrs. Fauna watched Jasper’s curious expression as he studied the broken leg.
“If we wait that long, it will have set too much. Send for Helga.”
“Helga? The nurse already did everything she could till we seek professional aid. You need to be-”
“I’ll walk her through the process, just get her here.” His voice became stern, even cold, and left Mrs. Fauna in a compliant daze. “Have her bring the low-grade ointment, some bull leaves, and the mortar.”
She nodded to Olivia, sending her out of the room and to the nurse’s quarters.
“Is there anything I can get you in the meantime.”
“A gla.s.s of water and something to bite down on.”
Mrs. Fauna stood from his side and over to the dresser where a vase sat at the ready, pouring a gla.s.s. Hurriedly, she rushed it back to him. Her hands were still shaking from anxiety, scared of what the lady might do to her.
“Here you go.” When she pa.s.sed him the gla.s.s, Jasper noticed her anxiety as his hand grazed hers.
That’s right. Mrs. Fauna was indeed punished severely after mother returned if I was ever injured. What was it again? Fifty lashes. No-
“Mrs. Fauna, It’s okay.” He quickly grabbed her hand. Wrapping his fingers with hers he held her hand tightly and looked her gently in the eye. “Rest a.s.sured, this is not your fault. I take full responsibility and won’t allow mother to say otherwise.”
A glitter of hope sparked in her eye, “Thank you, Master Jasper.”
He let go of her hand and downed the gla.s.s of water, unaware of how dry his throat truly was. Reasonable for someone who’s been out for three days.
When he was finished with the gla.s.s, Mrs. Fauna replaced it with Jasper’s wooden handled hair brush.
He immediately placed it between his teeth and began untying the splint.
“What are you doing?”
“…” Silence as he continued to undo the splint.
“Master Jasper should really wait for Helga to come.”
The cloth wraps came off and he tossed the wooden dowels off the bed with a clunk, clunk.
“Okay, you should really wait for Helga.”
Jasper grabbed his broken leg and with a loud CRACK! He reset the bones into the proper position.
His m.u.f.fled screams were received by Helga as she walked in the door, pushing a medicine cart.
The stout, dwarf of a woman waddled over with the cart lividly. “What did you do?! You undid the splint and broke your leg even more?!”
With brush in mouth, Jasper glared at the hag. Then dropped it in his lap, unamused. “Did you bring the items I requested?”
“Yes, but a low-level ointment won’t penetrate to the bone and the bull gra.s.s is but a farmer’s insect repellent.”
“Three parts bull gra.s.s, two parts lady pedal, and one part ointment. Grind the green, mix with the ointment, then hand it here.”
Helga grunted and turned to the cart, pulling pink flower pedals from a jar and some brown gra.s.s from the mid shelf beneath. With mortar and pestle she ground it finely, then mixed it with a dollop of green ointment and placed the mortar in Jaspers hand as asked.
“That is all, Helga.”
“Good, I’m off.” She left, happily.
He looked at the grotesque off-grey mixture, then proceeded.
Jasper held the mortar in both palms and focused for a second, flowing a miniscule amount of mana into the mixture to activate it.
On cue, the mixture turned a yellow-green from the center out.
“Is this [Alchemy], Master Jasper? You don’t start such studies for many years, how do you know such a thing.” Mrs. Fauna seemed flabbergasted.
“I’m well read and figure it’s best to have a head start for the placement tests.”
Of course, I can’t tell her that this is an [Alchemy] refining process I learned in my previous life from the elf’s. No other could hold a candle to the elf’s in [Alchemy].
She took the fib. “So, you’re finally committing to your studies?”
“Yup.” He shrugged her off, then took a healthy amount and began to knead it into the entirety of his leg, working past the pain as it slowly faded with use of the new salve.
“So how is that supposed to help?” Mrs. Fauna changed the subject, trying to keep his company.
“By mixing it with the bull gra.s.s and lady pedal and adding even the weakest amount of mana, one can boost the effect of a low-level ointment dramatically. On its own, the bull gra.s.s is an insect repellent and the lady pedal is a minor blood thinner.”
“Really?”
“Yup. The bone will be set in time for my first day.”
“That’s fantastic!” She filled with glee, excited to no longer need an expensive healer.
“That’s it. Now, how about some food?”
“Oh dear, you must be starving!” Mrs. Fauna Panicked. “I’ll return shortly.” She then exited Jasper’s chambers.
While he awaited her return, Jasper recounted countless memories of his childhood in this home.
It was over there that father use to spar with me. Mother would teach me the keys. It seems impossible to be back here. Last time I stepped foot in this house, it was on its ashes.
Mrs. Fauna had returned with a wheelchair constructed of fine woods.
“Oh, Mrs. Fauna, this is Grandma’s. I shouldn’t.” a certain hesitance entered his voice after seeing it.
“It will be fine. Wheelchairs are for the elderly and injured, are you not injured?” She half snorted at him.
“Okay.”
Jasper muttered a few things under his breath before conceding and accepting her help. She struggled a tad under his wait but they ultimately worked it out.
Mrs. Fauna grabbed hold of the handles and wheeled him down the hall and to an elevator. She walked over and pushed open the rusted accordion gate then loaded him in. She turned about, closed the squealing gate, followed by pulling a lever that activated a counter weight slowly bringing them to the first floor.
After opening the gate, she took him down the hall to the kitchen. White marble counters and chestnut cabinets lined the walls. A ma.s.sive Dutch oven along the back wall and a small window adjacent.
“Chef Blu-b.u.t.t!” She called, her collected tone bounced throughout.
“Yes Fauna, dear?” A pig faced man in chef’s hat stepped out of the pantry with a quake in his step and a roll in his fat. “Oh, Master Crowley! You're awake! I take it you'd like something to eat? You've been out cold for the past three days; I'd imagine you'd be hungry.”
“Starving.” Jasper leaned on the counter and smiled.
“Shall I make you your favorite?”
“You guessed it!” Jasper slammed his hands on the counter. “Something hearty, greasy, and meaty!”
“Oink! Excellent choice young master!” He grabbed a cast iron skillet, rummaged through the pantry and went to work calling on his kitchen maid to aid.
Whilst Blu-b.u.t.t was slaving over the open flame, Mrs. Fauna turned to Jasper, “What would you like to do while we wait?”
“Could you take me for a stroll around the halls?”
I just want to see the old place and all its glory.
“Sure thing, Master Crowley.”
She rolled him down the main hall, past the main entrance where the family displayed their power through vast numbers of various swords and artifacts weaved upon the walls like shoe laces, in arrays, and columns.
“Just as glorious as I remembered!” He gazed around the marble floored halls; black and white patterned, eloquently mixed. Marble flooring was rarely unheard of, for it was far too expensive and had to be transported from a dangerous quarry outside the territory.
Although this is only a testament to the Crowley heritage for this wealth and power is long forgotten. Most of the artifacts that the Crowley’s once had have long since been sold to keep the family afloat.
After the death of Jasper’s father, Jonathan Crowley, his family has lost business partners and investors leading to an existential nosedive.
Flora left no stone unturned, from the ball rooms to the guest rooms.
The Crowley Manner was planned to be the original governor’s palace when the city was much smaller, so all the bells and whistles are still present.
“Good to be home.” The scent of greased meat hit his nostrils.
Jasper’s stomach forced Mrs. Fauna to roll him back to the kitchen. Like a drug hound, he kept sniffing the air along the way, antic.i.p.ating the meal. When they arrived, there lay a heaping breakfast skillet of a.s.sorted meats awaiting Master Jasper at the counter. Without a second thought, he s.n.a.t.c.hed fro’ the counter and dug in. “It’s delicious Blu-b.u.t.t!”, he said, spewing a few chunks.
A twinkle hit his eyes, “Thank you master Crowley!”
“Hey.” Jasper pointed the fork with a piece of sausage, “A good chef deserves his complements.” He took another gleeful bite. Mmmm.
[Crowley Manner Entrance, Morning.]
As she walked through the main corridor, Jasper exasperatedly hobbled into her arms.
“Mother!” His cries m.u.f.fled into her bosom. “I missed you so!”
Martha Crowley overflowed with a motherly aura, comforting her child. Her greying red hair in a French braid sat over her left shoulder, pa.s.sing her dress line by more than half a foot.
“What’s wrong my child? I was only gone for a week.” She looked down to see the lightly wrapped leg. “Heaven’s what happened to you?” Her gaze turned hostile towards Mrs. Fauna at the far end of the hall.
Jasper wiped his tears away, presenting a gleaming smile. “I’m okay Ma. I fell out of a tree but it was only minor. I’ll be as good as new for school tomorrow!”
His confidence through her off, pulling her hostility from the Housekeeper and back towards her only child.
Chapter 2
Part 1
[Jasper’s Quarter’s, Pre-Dawn, Five Years Later (He’s 13)]
Jasper awoke, antic.i.p.ating his first day. His internal clock had grown keen to the minute, allowing him to plan his sleep cycles at will.
He watched a haze of red flow over the horizon as he stretched his arms.
With due haste, Jasper erected from the sheets and moved to the armoire to dress himself. He pulled out a white band collared dress shirt.
He eloquently slipped it over his slender bare chest leaving it unb.u.t.toned a third of the way, exposing a length of skin. Jasper then reached back in for a pair of espresso trousers that he put on, one leg at a time – as any man.
STOP HERE! – UNREFINED TERRITORY AHEAD!
You know it as earth – One of the nine realms; it’s known to the universe as Midgard, the home of mortal races. These realms were created to divide the many walks of life. Young Jasper would often find himself describing the nine realms to other travelers.
“Well, Midgard – I’ll start there – it’s the place of mortal men and often called earth by its oblivious residents.
Next, Asgard – mortals call it by the capital, heaven – its home to a bunch O’ pretentious cretins… -err, I mean G.o.ds.
Vanaheim the resting place of the G.o.ds of old.
Helheim is the land of the dead – don’t even get me started on the angry lady that tortures dead people.
Speaking of the angry lady – Niflheim, land of mist, is where she tortures the dishonorable dead.
Then we have – Ouo, this is a fun one – Muspelheim. When mortals think of h.e.l.l, the think of Muspelheim, land of fire and demons and scary s.h.i.t. I’ve made several unwarranted trips to its capital Cocytus – not a fun place.
Jotunheim – you haven’t heard of Jotunheim? Neither did I at first. Simply put, BIG ANGRY PEOPLE. Why are they angry? I don’t know. Once I tried asking; the b.a.s.t.a.r.d tried clubbing me.
Eight is Svartalheim, land of dwarves. A bunch of short dudes that know their way around a forge.
Lastly – a travel destination for all – Alfheim. Land of fairies. All the kinds. From unicorns to sprites. But the main attraction being the elves. I promise you I have never said this before, but the men of Alfheim are beautiful; like scary beautiful.
That’s it, the nine realms.”