Adventures on Terra - Book 1: Beginnings Read online

  © 2016 Ramon Mejia

  All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1.1

  Chapter 1.2

  Chapter 1.3

  Chapter 1.4

  Chapter 1.5

  Interlude 1

  Chapter 2.1

  Chapter 2.2

  Chapter 2.3

  Chapter 2.4

  Chapter 2.5

  Chapter 2.6

  Chapter 2.7

  Chapter 2.8

  Chapter 3.1

  Chapter 3.2

  Chapter 3.3

  Chapter 3.4

  Chapter 3.5

  Chapter 3.6

  Chapter 3.7

  Chapter 4.1

  Chapter 4.2

  Chapter 4.3

  Chapter 4.4

  Chapter 4.5

  Chapter 4.6

  Chapter 4.7

  Interlude 2

  Chapter 5.1

  Chapter 5.2

  Chapter 5.3

  Chapter 5.4

  Chapter 5.5

  Chapter 6.1

  Chapter 6.2

  Chapter 6.3

  Chapter 6.4

  Chapter 6.5

  Chapter 6.6

  Interlude 3

  Chapter 7.1

  Chapter 7.2

  Chapter 7.3

  Chapter 7.4

  Chapter 7.5

  Chapter 7.6

  Chapter 7.7

  Chapter 7.8

  Chapter 7.9

  Chapter 7.10

  Chapter 7.11

  Chapter 7.12

  Chapter 8.1

  Chapter 8.2

  Chapter 8.3

  Chapter 8.4

  Chapter 8.5

  Chapter 8.6

  Chapter 8.7

  Chapter 9.1

  Chapter 9.2

  Chapter 9.3

  Chapter 9.4

  Chapter 10.1

  Chapter 10.2

  Chapter 10.3

  From the Author

  Dedication

  For my beautiful, patient wife. Without her encouragement and willingness to edit in exchange for foot massages, this story would never have been written.

  Prologue

  A lightly glowing circle illuminates a darkened room. Within it sits a man with hands so black that they seem to be made from shadow. The features of his face and body are hidden by a long dark cloak and hood. His body moves so little, it would be easy to mistake his meditation for sleep.

  He is instead hyper-aware of everything happening around him. From the water dripping from the ceiling to the smell of the mold growing in the corner. He feels every movement of air on his skin and hears the small rodents crawling behind the walls.

  Yet he pushes aside all that sensory information. Instead, he delves deep into his own mind to connect to a place beyond the physical realm. A place of spirit and thought. He connects and travels to a pre-appointed place. There he sees four figures, kneeling. Each of the kneeling figures is similarly dressed, concealing their faces with hoods and cloaks. Only their hands are visible. One has hands the color of shining burnished gold. Another’s hands are as blue and cool as the deepest oceans. The third person’s hands are deep forest green and smells faintly of the earth and growing things. The fourth’s hands are so white they radiate light. The man with the black hands sneers when he sees the one with the white hands. He has had dealings with that one before and does not care for the weakness he saw there.

  He pulls his hood tighter and takes his place next to them and kneels. All around him, he can feel the spirits of ancient and powerful creatures. They exist just outside his physical perception, roaming like giant hunting lions. Though they hold no solid form, he feels their power and hunger. He knows, in this place of their power, they rule.

  A deep and terrible voice that reverberates like thunder says “You have finally arrived. We will begin then.”

  Another voice, also powerful but feminine, says, “We have felt a stirring in the waking world. Something has appeared that causes ripples of change like a stone being dropped in a still pond. We can feel the changes even though we do not know the exact cause.”

  A third voice, one that sounds like the wind blowing through the forest canopy, adds, “The oldest of the gods has brought an agent of change and chaos into the world. While we don’t know his or her identity, many ancient powers have felt the stirrings of possibility within this one.”

  The first deep voice commands, “This agent is something new and may be the key to our awakening. Find him and turn him to our cause.”

  “We hear and obey.” The five kneeling figures say in unison.

  The presence of each of the giant spirits fades away. Then one by one, each of the kneeling figures fades away. Their minds and spirits return to the physical realm until only the man with the black hands remains.

  An oppressive presence returns to the space and a sinister voice speaks. “You have remained. Good.”

  “I live to serve, mighty one.”

  The very air in the mind-space seems to vibrate and a rumbling evil laugh can be felt by the kneeling man. “Ha! You live to serve only yourself. Though you may fool the others with your act of servitude, do not think that I am fooled. That is why I chose you as my agent. You thirst for power like a man dying in the desert thirsts for water.”

  The kneeling man says nothing. He knows the depths he is willing to delve to satisfy his own cravings.

  “Good. You do know your place. I want you to follow the orders of the others. Find the agent of change loose in the world. Only, bring him to me and not the others. I have different plans for the agent.”

  “What if he does not want to come willingly? Or if he refuses to serve? Or he has already been found by one of the other powers?”

  “Persuade him to come by any means necessary.” A tendril of dark power wraps around the kneeling man sending arcs of painful energy into him. He collapses onto the floor wracked with pain. “If he is found by another power before you get to him I will be greatly displeased.”

  The dark tendrils withdraw from the man and he lies motionless on the floor. Slowly he returns to the kneeling position. “I live to serve.”

  “I know your predilections, servant. While you may not kill the agent of change, you may kill any who come between you and him. Let that motivate you to move quickly.”

  The added order causes dark stirrings in the kneeling figure but he does not let them show. Instead, he only repeats, “I live to serve, Great One.”

  The dark presence fades like the others, leaving the kneeling man alone. Then the kneeling man also fades from the place of mind and spirit, and returns to his own body.

  The cold air of the dark stone room feels cool against his skin. The man moves. A wide psychotic smile appears on the man’s face. He always likes the assignments where he gets to kill people.

  Chapter 1.1

  Sunlight pierces the lids of my eyes, disturbing my pleasant dreams. I groggily roll over in an attempt to escape the
light but no matter what position I shift to, the annoyingly persistent light refuses to let me fall back to sleep.

  Deciding it’s a hopeless endeavor to try go back to sleep, I open my eyes. Then, immediately close them.

  There’s no way I saw what I think I saw. Why would there be a tree in my room?

  I blindly feel around for a blanket or bed to confirm that I’m still in my room. Unfortunately, my hands only feel the dirt, rocks, and leaves. The evidence is mounting that I am not in my small one bedroom apartment. Mustering up the courage to face a weird reality, I open my eyes and see a forest canopy above me. Still on my back, I look left and right to confirm I’m not just looking at some poster pinned to the ceiling.

  Nope. The leaves move in the peculiar way leaves do when the wind blows. Speaking of the wind. As it blows, I feel a natural ‘shrinkage’ from my lower anatomy that tells me I’m naked. My hands instinctively move to protect my manhood from the chill breeze.

  As I wonder where all my clothes have gone, a soft feminine voice whispers near my ear, “Morning sleepy head. Welcome to Terra.”

  The sound of another person so close to me sends a jolt of adrenaline through my body and I sit up, frantically looking for the person that spoke. While thoughts of drunk dialing former crushes pass through my mind, I hear a light hearted giggling.

  I hear a tone of pity as the voice says, “Up here, Armon.”

  Now, having a clear direction to reference, I look up and see the most fantastic sight. There, hovering about three feet above my head is a woman, no bigger than my hand, with jet black hair, and smooth alabaster skin. This tiny woman flies through the air with four translucent wings and is wearing a dress that seems to be made out of leaves.

  I’ve never been the most eloquent of speakers, especially when talking to women. So it’s not really a surprise when seeing the small beautiful flying woman, all I could think of to say was, “What the hell?!?”

  The young woman with wings smiles, puts her hands on her hips, and she patiently repeats herself. “I said ‘Welcome to Terra’. Or are you deaf?”

  Still confused as to who or what I’m talking to, I answer, “Huh, no. I’m not deaf.”

  Then, realizing that maybe this person can give me some information, I ask, “Where am I?”

  The young woman, being sarcastic by nature, can’t help but respond, “I just told you. Terra. Remember the ‘Welcome to Terra’ part?”

  The young flying woman, agitated now that her client seemed to be dumb as a rock, starts to zip around.

  I’m becoming annoyed myself at the lack of information coming from the only person I can see and ask, “Where the hell is Terra? What are you and how do you know my name?”

  Her patience exhausted, she flies right up to my face and replies in a huffy tone, “I am not a thing. I am Mary and I am your fairy guide.”

  A fairy? A real fairy? I can’t seem to wrap my head around that fact that I’m actually speaking to a creature of myth and legend. I pinch myself trying to wake from the dream I’m sure I’m still in. Yet nothing happens. I don’t wake up.

  Noting the incredulous expression on my face, Mary sighs. “I know you no longer have fairies where you come from, but if you’ll let me get on with my introduction speech, maybe I can answer some of the questions you must have.”

  Not having a better idea of what to do next, I nod in assent.

  Mary clears her throat and begins her introduction speech. “As I was saying. Welcome to Terra. I’m Mary, your fairy guide. You’ve officially died and been transported here to have a second chance at life.”

  “Wait! I died?” I interrupt.

  “Yup. You’re the first person from your world to be reincarnated here too. The great Overlord God decided that you’d fit in well on Terra and brought you here after you died.”

  “How the hell did I die?” I ask.

  Mary’s eyes take on a far off look. As if she is looking at something I can’t see and responds, “Hmmmm. From your file, it seems you died from a heart attack after a 72-hour marathon gaming session. You really should have taken better care of yourself.”

  I sit in stunned silence, trying to absorb the fact that I died, and was reincarnated.

  Like most people that die suddenly, I lament my unfulfilled life. I died. That means I’ll never finish college, never become a contestant on The Price is Right, and never become a world class dancer. Not that I knew how to dance, but now I’ll never learn. Dammit, I never even got to ask out that hot girl Jenny from art class. I’d been waiting all semester for the perfect moment, too.

  Seeing my dejected look, Mary decides to try and cheer me up with some information about Terra. “You really did luck out on which world you reincarnated to. Based on your file, Terra is the perfect world for you. Its creation is, in part, based on the video games you seemed to have enjoyed so much.”

  Mary’s statement brings me back to the present. “What do you mean, ‘based on the video games’ I enjoyed?”

  “Hmmm. The best way to explain is probably to show you. Think in your mind or say out loud if it helps, ‘Status’. Go on, try it,” she suggests.

  Feeling a bit silly, I do as she suggests and shout “STATUS.” To my utter surprise, a blue window appears in front of me.

  Name: Armon Ellington

  Age: 19

  Level: 1

  Class: none

  Titles: none

  Exp to next lvl.: 100

  Health: 15

  Stamina: 20

  Mana: 20

  Strength: 10

  Dexterity: 10

  Constitution: 10

  Intelligence: 10

  Wisdom: 10

  Charisma: 10

  Attack: 1 - 1

  Defense: 0

  Skills: none

  Abilities: none

  Spells: none

  She’s right. This is a status screen. Just like the ones I’ve seen in the role-playing video games I love. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all. Sure, I never got to ask out Jenny, but I never got a status screen in my old world. I’m sure there are plenty of lovely ladies in this world too.

  Looking at the status screen, I see my name and age. Level 1. No class? That’s what my ex-girlfriend said when she dumped me, so no surprise there. I have 10 for all my stats. Guess that’s average. Thinking about the variety of different video games I’ve played over the years, I wonder what each stat does here.

  “Mary, what does each of the stats I see on my [status] page mean?” I ask.

  “Oh, well strength affects how hard you hit and how much you can carry. Dexterity determines how quick you are and how accurately you hit things when you aim. Constitution determines your health. Intelligence determines your mana and how powerful your spells are. Wisdom affects how quickly your mana recovers and how resistant you are to some spells. Charisma determines how likable you are,” she answers.

  Ok. My gamer brain immediately thinks of all the gaming strategies possible with character stats like this. I usually min/max my stats when I play games but that’s when it’s a game. If I want to survive here, I’ll have to think of a better strategy than maximizing a single stat for the largest bonus.

  Looking back at my [Status] screen I see that my attack is one. I wonder how that’s calculated. Something to figure out later. Defense is zero. That’s probably because I’m naked. “Umm, Mary? Where are my clothes?”

  “In your inventory, silly. You get a few items to help you get started as a part of your ‘starter reincarnation package’. Your clothes are there.”

  “How do I use my inventory?” I inquire.

  “You can usually access any part of the system menu by saying it out loud or thinking the command. Try silently thinking ‘Inventory’,” Mary instructs.

  I do as she suggests and think ‘Inventory’ in my mind. Another blue screen appears next to my status screen. This one has a series of boxes and some symbols at the very bottom. One of the boxes has something in it. Whe
n I focus on that box a small window pops up.

  Starter Shirt

  Defense: 1

  A basic shirt that offers minimal protection. At least it's better than being naked.

  Oh. That’s neat. I get more information when I focus on something in the blue screens. I wonder how I put that shirt on. Hmm, maybe I’ll try thinking [Equip Starter Shirt].

  It works. Suddenly I’m wearing a shirt. It’s basic homespun wool. A little itchy but that screen is right, it’s better than being naked. I focus on the other boxes that seem to have items in the inventory screen.

  Starter Pants

  Defense: 1

  Basic pants that offer minimal protection. At least it's better than being naked.

  Definitely need those. Can’t have the boys swaying in the wind. [Equip Starter Pants].

  Like the shirt, the pants just appear on my body. Again, basic homespun wool. The itching might be more annoying down there but beggars can’t be choosers. Only two other items in the inventory. One is food and the other water.

  Stale Bread Loaf (5)

  A stale loaf of bread. When eaten, increases regeneration of health and stamina by 5% over 30 minutes.