Tread Lightly – Among Monsters And Men

I feel my body begin to spasm in a shake, blood flowing out of me from every orifice and even my pores. The Ether within me is going rampant. I held onto it for far too long and now I cannot expel any Ether. So instead, it sits in my body and eats away at me, a substance that humans are not met to deal with.

Cold and heat simultaneously wash over me and fry my nerves as I seize next to the giant snake that is now dead. Accomplishment fills my heart as I hear two pairs of footsteps rush toward me. Then, through blurred vision only further obscured by veins of darkness, I see Virgil, holding onto Dakota, kneel beside me with Vernon.

The two brothers frantically argue above my convulsing body. I can barely even recognize who speaks and what they say beyond the pain and effects of my own Ether that is just disassembling my body.

“What do we do? He’s shaking and bleeding everywhere! What's happening?”

“Grab the medkit. Get the syringe within. I’ll hold him down.”

“Wait, it's his Ether that’s killing him?!”

“Yes! Now hurry up. He doesn’t have much time! Majority die in hours or days, but I can literally feel the Ether bubbling in him from here! At most he has a single minute!”

Firm hands grip both of my arms down and cool shackles, of what I can only assume is darkness, wraps around both of my legs. Through my eyes that can at this point probably not even recognize my own mother, I see a vaguely human face look at me and speak to me.

“Hold on Wyatt. You have acute Ether saturation. Just hold on a few minutes and you’ll be okay, I have a shot of the Concoction.”

A bit of assurance that I might be fine fills me because they have the concoction that can fight Ether saturation, something even my addled mind remembers from the manuals as a treatment, but then he turns away from my face and yells backward. As he does so, the black and blur that used to encompass my sight turns fully red, blinding me entirely. Now I’m left with only my hearing to hear them try to save me.

“Hurry the fuck up Vernon! His eyes are literally fucking melting!”

“Okay, okay, okay, I’m ready, how do I inject it?!”

“Pull up his shirt and stab it into his heart!”

I hear a rip of clothes, my shirt being sacrificed to reach my heart faster, that is followed by a sting in my chest. Nothing at first happens, but I hear Virgil yell at Vernon to prepare him.

“Once you inject it all, help me hold him down! Get his lower body! I had an old buddy before you got a Sigil and he had this happen to him, but we didn’t hold him. He killed himself to escape from the agony.”

The last thing I hear before red fills my whole body is an affirmative grunt from Vernon. I prepare myself for what is to come by gritting my teeth and steeling my mind. Then, he injects the Concoction directly into my heart. I figure that I’ve been through a lot of pain before, so this shouldn’t be too bad despite Virgil’s history with the Concoction.

I was wrong. The liquid magma that filled my arteries earlier was nothing but a hot cup of coffee slowly dripping into my circulation. That felt like I was being tortured at the time but is not as bad in hindsight. The Concoction, though?

I feel like I’m about to die. I shake even harder as the heat of a radiant sun enters my body and purifies it from within. The seizure that is forced upon me leaves as I create one with a dozen times more power. I spam and convulse to bear with the pain as screams so loud my eardrums ring exit me.

Hands and dark tendrils press me into the sand, however, and prevent me from hurting myself as Virgil said. But the agony only grows as the sun permeates throughout my body from my heart and into my limbs, not devouring or expelling the Ether in my body, but instead cremating it. Burning the Ether with such heat that it exits my body in what feels like bloody steam from my pores.

My convulsions only grow in magnitude as the fury of the sun reaches my extremities. I hold on as long as I can from the pain, but it’s beginning to become too much for me to handle. I’ve had my spine broken, more holes in my body than should be possible, and even survived acute Ether saturation once, but this? This shoves down my throat my recklessness and folly. That some things are worse than death.

Once the plasma reaches my head and touches my core, I give up. The heat is now just me. The radiance is ten times worse than AES. So much Ether is being evaporated from my body, I worry that I too am being evaporated. I slam the back of my head into the sand beneath me, searching for any way out of unending agony.

The first hit though, sends a concussive force through me and I try again, but before I do so, a feeling enters me. One less so a feeling and more so an idea. One more second. Of just one more step. One more instant forward in time before I relent.

I grit my teeth so hard I feel cracks emerge within them and hold my head in the position to slam it, but I do not. I wait just a little bit longer. I can do just a little bit more. Just another second.

No, I’m done now.

No! Another second.

I can’t!

I can!

I feel something grip me from within that guides me subtly forward. And amongst the worst physical pain of my life, I realize what the Forward in Forward Daydreamer means. It means a daydreamer who always takes another step. That giving up is not an option. Once you give up, your dreams fade as well.

This thought is held onto for just a few more seconds before a huge burst of heat overflows me and then fades just as quickly as it first appeared in my heart. The afterburn, though, gives me a rush of energy like I just took a whole night's sleep as I sit up and open my eyes. Hands resist my movement, but I croak out reassurance with dry lips from the internal heat.

“I’m fine. Let go.”

Pressure relents and I sit up, eyes no longer blurry, but still filled with darkness. The darkness and whispers that seem to almost always be present. I dream of a time when they are not. Carefully, Ether is moved to restart my Daydream that was focused on healing me, and that did a damn good job if I’m being honest. The Ether in me flows smoothly and without resistance as I notice the Ether headache is gone.

Does the Concoction remove normal fatigue from Ether saturation? I guess it would since all the symptoms of saturation comes from Ether not yet expelled from your system and the Concoction removes all Ether from your flesh.

My eyes slowly clear from the darkness and allow me to see the two brothers in front of me who saved my life. I see them both smiling as Vernon hugs me and yells into my ear.

“I thought you were gonna die, man! Thank you so much for saving me! I was a goner if you didn’t hit the snake like that. How’d you even do that? You’re only a second Sigil?!”

A hand slaps Vernon on the back of the head, making a chuckle escape from me despite the circumstances. It is followed by Virgil’s voice.

“Chill out Vernon. He almost died and that was our only Concoction. They’re expensive as hell, but it was worth it. This snake should sell for a pretty penny, though. Or at least its heart, venom, and the possible artifact will. Rest up a bit Wyatt, I’ll take some painkillers to fight my headache and butcher the snake. Vernon?”

“Yeah?”

“Watch out for any more snakes in case we need to cut and run.”

“Okay.”

I nod to Virgil’s words and lay back down. Before Virgil cuts up the snake with Cutting Words, the letter opener artifact, he sets Dakota on my lap with my coat. Then, I just relax with Dakota while Virgil works and Vernon watches out for danger. I’m not physically tired because the Bloody Palm healed me and a headache from Ether is not present because of the Concoction clearing out my system, but instead, tiredness falls upon me.

Tiredness that asks for rest, not sleep, but just relaxation. How did Edmund do all those fights back to back without just dropping dead? I mean he escaped from an entire town overrun then continued to fight and protect me for days. I don’t think I ever even saw him sleep for more than an hour. How did he can the Ether or the mental energy to stay standing?

Just another thing for me to admire about the old man.

I oblige to the tiredness for an hour or so, merely observing the ever-shifting clouds above until Virgil hops down from the snake with a cheer. Covered in red blood he holds up two objects. The first is the horn from the aptly named Short Horned Serpent. It’s a short, but wide and hollow horn that is obviously just cut off of a dead creature. The second is a large organ in his hand that is utterly covered in blood, its heart. Without even needing me to ask, Virgil says what he’s found.

“So, the snake wasn’t very venomous, so I just left its venom, but its heart will sell for a lot. The hearts of monsters like these are jam-packed with nutrients and are perfect rations for powerful Hunters in the wild. The real prize, though, is this horn. The snake’s Sigil is within, which seems to be around our level Vernon, could you check it out?”

Vernon nods to the question as my head turns in confusion. The snake only had a 3rd Sigil? How? It was massive?! I raise my question to Virgil as he hands the brownish horn to Vernon for inspection.

“How come the snake was only a 3rd Sigil? It was so massively dangerous?”

Virgil looks at me and explains a bit before pointing to his head to emphasize a point.

“You must have not hunted very many monsters before. Beasts can handle much more Ether than humans can. This is because their bodies are tougher and they don’t have as delicate minds so they can grow much larger while at the same time using more power at the same Sigil rank. Whenever we use Ether, the most common symptom of drawing too much is a headache and other brain-related injuries. Beasts don't have that issue as much. What gives us our greatest power is also our greatest weakness in the wilds.”

I acknowledge his explanation as I think about it for a bit longer while Vernon peers into the horn for the Sigil that dwells within. Humans will almost always be at a disadvantage with raw power. I think I remember reading that or something similar very early on in the manuals. Does that mean we can never reach the strength of these beasts no matter how many Sigils are used?

“Another quick question Virgil while your brother is occupied. If we can use less Ether does that mean we are always weaker than a beast? Is there anyone that overcomes that gap? And what about demons?”

He laughs at my questions but not in a mocking way, but more in a joyful way.

“Yeah. We almost always are weaker than a beast of a similar Sigil. The only way to overcome it is with caution, planning, and teamwork. Few exceptions exist to this rule. And even fewer that can stand up to demons, the creatures with even more natural advantages than demons. They have the best of both worlds, which is intelligence and power. Marshal Travis, The Unyielding Wall is one of a literal handful of men who can go toe to toe with a beast or demon of the same Sigil.”

I get curious at the mention of a man like Marshal Travis, I feel like I've heard Earl mention him before, and ask more about him. What does it take to tango with a snake like that on your own? Or a demon?

“How can Travis do that? Does he have a special artifact or something? Or is his Sigil unique?”

Virgil shakes his head before laughing, this time with a bit of mockery.

“That man? No. I saw him myself when I visited the Bent Fortress years ago. He owns no artifacts. Only a pair of brass knuckles. More scars litter that man that sand in the dunes. And his Sigil? It’s said he has only ever taken the Sigil of the Soldier. One cannot be more mundane.”

“Then how does he do it?”

“From half a century of constant war. Through the deaths of thousands, maybe even millions, he has learned everything there is to know about combat, war, and most importantly, survival. Little could possibly catch him off guard. I’ve seen him punch a Urayli to the ground, a monster that resembles a massive hairy man and nears fifty feet tall then immediately meet a Nimerigar in a duel, a pygmy type of demon that uses poisoned weapons. He fought both at the same time, going back and forth expertly with unmatched timing and senses. I’d dare to say none in the world can match that man in combat experience, not even the Prime himself because he hasn’t fought in years.

Maybe Behemoth, the first Binary Lord of the demons could match him in technique, but that’s not a fair comparison. Behemoth has been alive for over a thousand years and compared to Travis’ paltry sixty or so? Not a good comparison as Travis has been fighting for humanity since he was twelve.”

That’s incredible. There are many amazing men in this world. Many that I want to meet like this man Travis. But I know for every one of these legends on our side, there are ten or more against us. We just don’t mention them that often. My thoughts aren’t left to dwell on this for long as Vernon turns back up to us from inspecting the horn. This time seemed to take longer than the previous one with Law’s Light, but Vernon appears to be incredibly excited.

“I think we got some good merchandise here to sell, Virgil. Wyatt must be our lucky break! The horn has a trio of Soldier Sigils within it, the full thing being a Veteran. I was also able to inspect deeper into it as it is weaker than Law’s Light. The leftover emotions within it aren’t very powerful, so neither should the negative. A 3rd Sigil artifact won’t sell for as much as a 4th, but this is just a start! Virgil, we might be able to pay off the debts after this trip!”

Virgil's eyebrows raise at Vernon’s sentence and so do mine. Debts? I thought these two were getting money to pay for a sister’s treatment. I raise the suspicion.

“You guys have debts to pay off?”

Virgil nods at me and explains quickly before turning his attention to Vernon.

“Yeah, I sent Vernon for Hunter training when he was younger and I had to take a bunch of debts that we are paying off alongside the treatment for our sister. We need a lot of money. Vernon, calm down and lower your excitement. If it doesn’t have a strong negative, then the effect from it won’t be as strong. And don’t get too expectant of this trip, you know how rare artifacts are from dead monsters. Unless we find a demon, nothing is guaranteed, and a demon is the last thing we want to meet out here.”

My suspicion that rose out of nowhere is put down instantly. Of course, they would have debts. Hunter training is expensive and these brothers seem like Virgil pulled their whole family out of the muck by himself. I can see it just in the way he acts. I have to be more careful of my paranoia.

And Virgil’s right, based on our conversation, a demon would be a whole magnitude more dangerous than the giant serpent. We were only able to kill the damned thing because it was stupid and didn’t realize to leave the light of the head lantern.

I see Vernon’s excitement drop a bit, but then he raises the horn into the air as if he’s about to blow into it. Before he can, though, Virgil smacks it out of his hand, making the horn fall into the sand.

“Are you insane! Don’t blow that! The giant snake’s den might be nearby. If that horn does what it looks to do, you’re attracting a battle we can’t afford. We’ll test it out later, okay?”

Obvious disappointment rises in Vernon’s eyes as he pouts. A soundless laugh comes from me as I cover my mouth.

“Fine… Let’s go then…”

Then, he begins walking and kicking the sand beneath him as he walks west, leading our group of three men and one baby fox. A baby fox that is rapidly growing. I turn to the little guy who has now returned to my backpack and he appears to be nearing the size of a juvenile fox. Soon, he’ll be big enough to help with scouting or other things. I don’t want to risk him in a fight though, so he’ll be kept from those until he has a much higher Sigil.

I realize it’s hypocritical of me, with how I was willing, and actually raring to fight even without a Sigil. But I don’t care. As we travel, I see Virgil palm several small tablets that I recognize as being painkillers. It seems that his saturation is quite bad. I check up on him.

“You doing okay, Virgil? Don’t push yourself too far, rest if you need to.”

He laughs before taking a swig of water while walking and down the pills.

“I’m fine, don't you worry. Once the sun is up far enough, we’ll take a short break. All I need is a short two-hour sleep to clear my body of Ether. A benefit of having the Nightowl Sigil along. But talking about pushing oneself too far is rich, coming from you. Are you doing alright? I’ve never taken a Concoction before, but I know they are traumatizing.”

I nod toward him and reassure him of my situation.

“Yeah, I’m doing fine. I tend to go overboard quite often. The only thing my Sigil really gives me is the ability to withstand more Ether, so I commonly use that to my advantage. I’ve actually already suffered from acute Ether saturation, but I didn’t have a Concoction that time. I just pulled through on my own. This time though, I doubt it could’ve worked. It was way further gone than I was previously.”

Virgil whistles and pats me on the shoulder. And I even hear Vernon ahead of us, moping about not being able to name and test the horn, exclaim.

“Damn. You’re a walking miracle man. I’ve never met a single person who survived without a Concoction to pull them from self-destruction. Must have been a hell of a ride.”

Recent memories flow through my mind. Of friends who helped me pull through when I was hopeless. It makes me realize how much companions beside you matter. I make sure to offer to help him out for saving me.

“Yeah. It sure was. But I had some friends to help me get through it. And sorry about using your Concoction, I’ll pay for it.”

The man shakes his head profusely before pulling me in close. Then, he whispers to me quietly so that Vernon can’t hear.

“Think nothing of it. I’ll handle it myself. You saved my lil’ bro. Even if he’s annoying or childish, he’s family. We’re a team now because of it. And teams don’t have debts among them if they want to last longer than a single mission.”

He ends the whisper by ruffling my hair and walking faster to catch up to Vernon who is trying to gain distance from us.

A team. That’s a first. Earl, Elizabeth, and the others weren’t all that much of a team. We worked alright together, but never truly fought together like how we did just now. We were always a jumbled-up mess that somehow got out of things alive.

I like having a team though.