Silos: by Nick Venom (essential reading TXT) 📕

cried, changing the solid grass into mush-full mud. The goblins began sinking and were pounced on by the humans. 

During the chaos, Silos noticed the wounded wolves disappearing into the shrubbery. He followed after them, scarily avoiding the sinkholes, and entered the wolves’ deathbed. There, covered in blood, both wolves laid to live the last few moments of their lives. Their fur was matted with blood and flesh. Their faces and legs were scratched up. Their eyes were the only clear thing about them. Their eyes remained glossy, staring up at the sky with relief.

The male wolf noticed Silos and attempted to stand up, but his legs collapsed on him. Silos shook his head at them. “I’m not here to hurt you.” He walked up to them and lightly pressed on the male’s head. The male growled in response, but his life was faltering. The female wolf had already passed on, leaving the male to defend them for a few more seconds. The male wolf rolled to the side to reveal a litter of two puppies. The parent wolves had carried them, without anybody noticing, and laid them there.

The male wolf then lowered his head and snuggled with the female wolf, licking her, before his eyes went dormant. The parents bled out, dying together at peace. Silos caressed the male wolf’s head as if to say “I will take care of them in your stead.” He picked the puppies up and laid them in a small pouch he created by using his tee-shirt. 

Silos emerged from the shrubbery with the puppies, taking them to Luther. Luther---green blood staining his clothes---watched with wide eyes as Silos revealed the puppies. “What do you intend on doing with them?”

“They lost their parents. They have nowhere else to go.” He then looked up at the sky, a beautiful emerald green reflecting back towards him. “I will take care of them.”

Luther shook his head, beckoning him to follow. The other humans cleaned up the goblin massacre. They hadn’t done much, being shown up by Luther’s God-Tier Storm magic; something of his own creation.

Meanwhile, he led Silos to his home, passing Nikki and Rachel. The sisters followed Silos into Luther’s home and watched as Luther looked around his unkempt house, searching for something. He looked for a few minutes, before finding what he was looking for. He then laid a bowl on the ground, filling it with a reddish-yellow potion. 

“It’s called Dragonbreath, an incredible potion that I’ve created that brings a person---from the land of the dead---to the land of the living. However, the side effects are random, but most effects are positive.” He then reached into a cabinet and took out a candy bar-shaped item, snapping off half of it. He dropped the piece into the bowl, creating an instant reaction. The liquid changed to dark green with hints of blue. “Give it to them,” 

Silos lowered the puppies to the ground, watching as they sprinted towards the bowl and slurping up its contents without worry. 

Silos looked at Luther who shrugged. “I don’t know if it will completely work as Dragonbreath is still a prototype, but this combination of Dragonbreath and Granola bars will cause a positive effect.”

“They’ll survive,” Silos muttered to himself. He repeated his words, more confident the second time.

 

“I need to test your strength,” Luther muttered, gripping a sword tightly. They stood outside near Silos’ hut on the outskirts of the village. “You have a passionate heart, but if you wish to stay here then you must prove your worth.”

Silos overlooked the armory, choosing a black metal spear with a red tip, a bolt of electricity charging through his body upon touching it. He then turned to face Luther, one-handing the spear. He had no experience with spears, but his gut told him to go with it. “Unlock the stages of Arkshaw Trojan Spear,” he muttered, not realizing the words’ significance. The words had come to him out of nowhere, almost as if somebody was using him to speak.

Luther attacked first, lunging towards Silos. He reacted quickly, dodging the attack. Luther then faked a feint before jabbing Silos in the stomach. He was thrown back, barely missing a wall. 

Silos jumped up, surprised at his reaction. It felt like he was possessed by a warrior god.

He charged forward, the spear pointing towards Luther. Luther blocked the attack but didn’t notice a change in the spear. The red tip had begun taking over the black, making it the minority. The first stage was open.

Silos, surprised at his acts, had tried to retake control of his body, but it wouldn’t allow him. He was now a passenger in his own body.

Silos then attempted another charge, this one being different. A beam of magic emitted from the spear and collided with Luther. This time, Luther was thrown back. Silos looked down at the spear, gawking at its new function. His body was then returned to him, a sudden bolt of electricity leaving him.

Meanwhile, Luther had stood up and lowered his weapon. He was pleased with Silos’ strength.  “I underestimated you, kid. Welcome to Arkshaw.”

 

TBC…

Episode Four "The Key"

After the skirmish, Luther granted him the spear and offered him magic lessons. He accepted the offer but asked for it to be the next day. Luther agreed and they went their separate ways.

Silos returned to his hut, fixing up the place, as the two puppies strolled in. He noticed their arrival and leaned over, caressing their heads. He then stood up and continued fixing up the hut, stopping when he noticed the arrival of a floating light orb. He quickly brandished his spear and pointed it at the orb.

The light orb neared him, the spear bringing itself down. Silos tried raising the spear to defend himself, but the spear refused; almost as if it was a living being.

“It seems like my creation obeys me,” a high-pitched girly voice remarked, originating from the orb. The orb then expanded to allow Silos to view a pale woman dressed in white, slightly hovering above the floor. 

“W-Who are you?” He shouted, trying his best to raise the sword to no avail.

“I am Calantha, an Arc God overlooking the world of Historia.” She declared. Her voice was light, not louder than a whisper. She talked formally, not inviting informality to her voice. 

“Were you the one controlling me?” He asked, connecting the dots.

She slightly nodded her head. “It was I who deemed you worthy of my creation. This creation will grow stronger as time passes, ensuring you a reliable companion.” She turned around and caressed the hut’s thin wooden walls. “It appears that you aren’t knowledgeable about the skills you possess.” 

A game-like screen then appeared in front of Silos. On the screen were four skills with descriptions. The first skill, Mana Absorption, allowed him to steal mana from anybody within ten feet of him. The second skill was Wandering Eye, a skill that granted him the ability to see people’s statuses, acting like an x-ray machine. The third skill, Last Ditch, gave him immense strength and speed for a few seconds at a costly backlash; the skill looked to be for life or death emergencies. The last skill was  Spear Arts, which was connected to the Arkshaw Trojan Spear, and would activate the three stages when enough experience and mana were devoured. Spear Arts would, at one point, allow him to control the spear with his mind.

As Silos was reading, Calantha looked down at the puppy, silently blessing them. The puppies then looked up at Calantha with confused eyes.

Silos glanced up at Calantha. “You granted me these skills… why?” Silos asked, taking her attention away from the puppies.

“The skills were granted to you through the Godking, not by myself! I can only hope that Godking allows me to utilize my hint of powers to help you as best as I can..” She explained.

“Why are you helping me?” Silos asked, a voice crack intercepting his words.

“The weak must gather their courage to rebel against the strong. Those words were said by a colleague of mine, whose power granted you the screen. Your skills must be used for the good of the world.” She then glanced around her before leaning towards Silos. 

“An oracle told me that you will be the key to discovering a way to save the spirit realm, which will be destroyed by the upcoming war.” Her form then began disappearing, starting at the bottom. “It’s unfortunate, but it looks like I have overstayed my welcome on Historia. I will return once my power is enough to recreate my mortal body.” Her form then completely disappeared, leaving Silos dumbfounded at her words. He now had a prophecy laying in front of him.

“The key?” He questioned, staring at where Calantha used to be. “I’m the key?”

 

Silos left his hut hours later, joining Luther overlooking a new batch of recruits. Luther had created the Arkshaw Blue Guards as a defense mechanism against enemies. However, most of the ABG were sent on scouting missions for new resources, leaving few guards behind. 

To prevent future casualties, Luther began training recruits to fill the empty ranks. Silos joined along, watching the selection process. Men, sixteen and older, line up single-file and were being forced through an obstacle course to become an ABG.

During the obstacle course, Luther turned to Silos. Luther then motioned towards the enlistees attempting to climb up wooden walls and crawl through mud. 

“Nobody wants to admit it, but otherworlders have shaped our world in a different mold. This ‘obstacle course’ was created by otherworlders long ago and is still being used today.” He remarked.

Silos nodded, half paying attention. His mind was focused on the enlistees. He envisioned himself as one of them.

Luther noticed his lingering stare, walking away to bring back a lapis lazuli-blue tactical suit for Silos to wear. “You don’t have to complete the course, you’ve already proved yourselves earlier.” Silos grabbed the suit and looked at it, his name etched into the suit. 

“Why did you get me one?”

“You have a good heart---many wouldn’t save puppies. Also, your strength isn’t too bad, nearly overwhelming myself, who’s centuries old.” He said, chuckling at himself. “I need to keep your strength in this village.”

“Ah,” Silos muttered, looking up at the emerald sky. He then sat down on a rock perched over the enlistees. He felt something rubbing against his back, noticing the puppies behind him.

“Have you chosen a name for them?” Luther asked him.

“I haven’t,”

“You should, every living being deserves a name and a home.” Luther then sat down next to Silos. “Tomorrow,” He started, glancing at the enlistees. “I’ll be introducing you to the other villagers. You can’t stay by yourself on the outskirts or else rumors will begin to form.” He looked away, clearly revealing that a rumor had formed around him. 

“They called me a weirdo when I first came here,” he said with a sad voice. 

“Anyways, I look forward to meeting with the others. It seems like that the sisters that brought me here are keeping their distance like I was a grizzly bear or something.”

“Grizzly bear?” Luther questioned.

“Nothing,”

“Those sisters will warm up to you soon, just give them time. That Nikki is a stubborn girl while her younger sister, Rachel, is shy and quiet. Please get along with them if you can.”

“I will,”

“Good,