Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 241: Reyla

The Wall

It was the middle of the night, but everything was painted in an orange light. The shadows danced in the firelight, playing tricks on the already weary defenders. Even Reyla had trouble keeping her eyes on the shadows in the distance, because every once in a while, the shadows would move in a way that would make her see something that wasnt there. It made her remember the endless tide of monsters, the fighting and the stench of blood, of scents she had never smelled before but now couldnt help but smell all the damn time.

The monsters from the dome had been grinding the empire to fine dust for years, the only reason they had survived was because of their preparations, and even then, it had been a close thing. The army had been away when they first struck at the cities in the south, when they rolled over them like it was nothing. What few defenders were left tried to fight back, but the most they managed to achieve was a fighting retreat.

Reyla wasnt there to see it, but she had heard the stories. Everyone was forced to fight, strong or weak, they had no choice. So many had died, that Reyla didnt know if the Empire could recover from it. By the time the army returned, the monster tide had nearly reached the Wall. Their last defense against possible invasion by the Settled Territories, in case that they were discovered to soon, or if their attack didnt go according to plan.

The Wall had never been meant to protect against the attack that came from the Southern direction. Nearly all of their food production had been in the south, behind the wall. Most of their greatest mining and crafting houses. They had everything that they needed to survive an invasion. And now it was all lost, taken over by an enemy that they were unable to defeat.

The tide seemed endless, no matter how many they killed, their numbers didnt seem to decrease, there were always more coming, relentlessly. They had barely held the Wall before the army arrived, and since then theyve been fighting a battle that was draining them every day.

Her father was somewhere behind the wall, replanting and expanding the few farms that they had in the north, making sure that the Empire could survive. The war itself was eating their resources, and they were reaching the point where they would deplete everything, what they consumed outstripped what they could produce. Nearly all of the survivors in the north that werent at the Wall were working toward expanding their production, in one way or another.

Their biggest issue had been the Wall. Their great forts had been placed on the southern side and were all hugging the Wall from the southern side, they had lost nearly a third of them before they had been able to raise new walls to protect them, but they couldnt match the hundreds of years of preparation and protections that the Wall itself held.

A long night, a voice from her side said, and Reyla glanced at her brother.

Emrys stood next to her, holding his red staff in his hands, leaning on it. The two of them had been through a lot, had gotten very close.

Yes, she said. They had spent every night for the past week on this wall, standing guard. The Wall was under constant siege, but not always the same part of it. The enemy was testing it, they sent armies against different parts of the wall in an unpredictable order. It had been five days since the last attack on this part of the wall.

You heard the news? Emrys asked.

No, I was training with mother today, Reyla answered.

Well, the word around the mess hall is that the coast was hit pretty bad yesterday. A couple thousand managed to get through before the head of the Vyzer family arrived to help.

Reyla grimaced. They had been struggling to hold the walls, their strongest warriors, the Empires High Ranker equivalents, were moving constantly from one side of the wall to the other. Going where they were needed and where the attacks were the hardest. Of course, they couldnt be everywhere, and the wall was nearly twelve thousand kilometers long. So, they were spread out, always rushing to the nearest place where the enemy pushed a stronger attack.

The Wall stretched from the coast in the West, all the way to the mountain range that was the Empires Eastern border. And those two points was what worried the Empire the most. The mountain range was hard to traverse, and it stretched all the way up to the Northern border of the Empire, which made that side pretty safe. They had patrols in the mountains, and while they had seen some monster scouts, there hadnt been any real push for them to try and circumvent the wall that way. The mountains were filled with powerful monsters and narrow paths, an army would have a hard time getting through there.

The coast was a much greater concern. There had been some fears that the monsters could go around the Wall by going over the ocean. Fortunately, they were yet to see them even attempt to go through the water. But they were still attacking the fort at the end of the Wall. The fort was half in the water, and one of the largest ones on the Wall, and it had already been hit hard three times, each time to the point of nearly falling. For some reason the enemy was interested in passing through there.

They had been sending their flying scouts over to map the Empires territory, though the Orders had done a good job of keeping their eyes open and taking those scouts down.

Mother left for Fort Kelos, Reyla added. There had been some increase in attacks on the Western front.

Reyla and her brother were currently protecting the piece of the Wall a short distance away from the Fort Oasis, it was a fort protected by the Ornn family and their guards. The army was spread thin, they had lost to many over the years. Each family was forced to add to the defense effort, many taking larger roleslike Reylas family.

I dont know for how long we can hold here, Emrys said after a beat. We keep losing people, and nothing we do seems to even be slowing down the attacks. Their numbers arent decreasing.

Reyla knew that the enemy had a way of growing more monsters, their scouts had found their breeding grounds. Former cities, corrupted and turned into fortresses where they bred more horrors. So far, it seemed like the Empire was able to kill the enemy at about the same rate that they were breeding replacements, but the opposite wasnt true. The Empire was losing high tiered people with every attack. More than one billion people had died, or worse, in the initial attack and subsequent retreat beyond the Wall.

Not to mention the rest of the Empire which was struggling just to stay alive. They were not going to last for much longer.

Ive heard some rumors, Reyla said slowly as she looked around, seeing that the nearest other guard on the wall was sufficiently away that they wouldnt be overheard. She wasnt sure if she should speak, she was pretty sure that she wasnt supposed to know what she knew. But the war had made everyone tired; her mother hadnt kept as tight lid on things as she shouldve. On the rare occasion that her mother returned and trained with her, Reyla had managed to glimpse at and overhear a few things.

What kind of rumors? Emrys asked.

I think that the higher ups might be thinking about making a counter offensive, Reyla whispered back to him.

Again? The last one didnt end all that well, Emrys questioned.

Reyla closed her eyes, remembering. The last attempt had been made nearly a year and a half ago. An army was assembled with the intent of taking back one of the cities beyond the Wall. The plan had been to take back a large area of land directly in front of the Wall, create a buffer zone, then slowly push and retake more and more ground. It succeeded in its first objective, they managed to take back one of the cities, and killed a general in the process. They burned the breeding monster to ash and purged the black growths that overtook the city. In the end it didnt matter. Withing two weeks, the monsters retaliated and butchered the army, barely a fifth of it managed to escape back behind the Wall.

The plan is different this time around, Reyla said. I think that they want to go after the leader, Hastur.

Emrys blinked. No way, we havent even seen it since the strike at Sandstorm City, he said.

I caught glimpse of some reports that suggest that some of our scouts mightve been able to locate Hasturs hiding place.

That We dont know what that will do though.

From what I gathered, the hope is that without its leader, the monsters would lose cohesion, that instead of one synchronized force, we would be fighting a hundred smaller ones led by the generals.

Emrys nodded his head. That could work. But I dont see how we can get an army through all of this, he waved his hand beyond the wall.

Reyla shrugged. I dont know what they have planned, not really, I just gathered bits and pieces.

Still, Emrys said. We do need to do something. This is unsustainable, we are losing slowly, but we are losing.

Reyla grunted in agreement. The last three years had served to teach her a lot. She had seen horrors and battle nearly daily. She had been forged in the conflict, surrounded by battle and death. Trained with her mother every time she had the time. And still, she feared fighting these monsters.

Im sure that the higher ups know that too, Reyla answered.

Right, Emrys said.

They settled into a comfortable silence, both keeping their eyes on the darkness in front of them.

Then, she frowned. Something in the distance caught her eye, but she wasnt sure what exactly. Her |Greater Night Vision| let her see better in the dark, so she tried to focus, leveraging her will to make her sight even better.

Emrys saw the same thing at the same time. He turned and slapped his hand at the array plate on the side of the wall. Immediately an alarm sounded across the wall. Reyla placed one hand on a medallion hanging around her neck and spoke, her voice amplified.

Taken incoming! Everyone, to the walls!

The sound of the camp behind the wall waking up was immediate, people ran for the stairs leading up to the four-meter-tall Wall. Putting their equipment on quickly and readying themselves for the battle.

In front of her, Reyla could see the horde of people running for the wall. She recognized them quickly, their bare bodies and simple weapons meant that these people used to be slaves before. The black lines traveling all over their body identified them immediately as the taken, those who were unlucky enough to be captured and corrupted instead of killed. They didnt know how many of the people in the South had been turned into the taken, the enemy threw them at the Wall from time to time. There were several different types of the taken; most were mindless puppets that just rushed at anything in front of them. Their stats were the same as in life, but they felt no pain, knew no fear, and could survive wounds that would kill them before, but they couldnt use any of the powers that they had in life. The second were those who had retained their previous powers and intelligence, these were the worst to fight, since they still resembled people. They spoke, and they fought smartly, but they were fully under the command of the enemy. The last and the rarest of the taken were seldom seen and were called the empowered. They retained all of their power and gained more than what they had in life.

Reyla had never seen an empowered before, only a few people had. And they were as tough to take down as a general.

From the look of the taken rushing toward the wall, these were only the mindless ones. She glanced to the sky, trying to see if they had brought any of their flying monstersand found none.

The Wall filled up with soldiers wearing Ornn family colors, in the distance, Reyla saw Vanessa standing on a towertaking command. All of their parents were aways, the same as Erik who had left two days ago to help another part of the wall that had seen heavy offensive.

The mindless charged the Fort Oasis walls and the soldiers on the battlements opened fire. The fort was lying against the Wall, with newly erected walls surrounding it. Reyla and her brother watched as arrows and powers slammed into the first line of the taken. Then, a few moments later, soldiers around her opened fire from the walls.

The focus of the attack was on the fort, it was the weak spot, since it hid a gate that led through the Wall. Emrys raised his staff and started sending bolts of fire at the charging taken. Among them, she could see larger shapes moving, the small-type monsters of the enemy horde.

They reached the front of the fort and moved out of her sight line, so she focused on the monsters in front of her. The night had turned into day with the light of all the powers being thrown around. Then, out of the darkness, huge shapes surged forward. Tall monsters flew through the air, everyone on the wall immediately focusing them down. It didnt matter, they reached the walls, their tough hide protecting them, their flat heads smashed into the stone wall triggering the defensive arrays. They didnt do any damage to the wall, but that was not their purpose. They lowered their back end, creating a platform from the ground to the wall. The aptly names bridge-types were difficult to deal with since they were seemingly made to take a lot of punishment. The taken and monsters started climbing over their backs and Reyla got ready.

The first mindless near her lost its head with one swipe of her spear. She tried not to look at their faces, tried not to think that they had once been people. They had captured taken and tried to help them, but nothing had worked. She told herself that killing them was a kindness.

As the first black monster with a forest of tentacles for limbs climbed up, she felt a dull noise in the back of her mind. Her |Mind Sphere| protected her from the worst of the mental fear, but she knew from experience that long exposure made things worse. She also knew that there were people behind her, in the camps getting ready to rotate with people who were exposed to the mental attack enough to feel the effects.

With her |Perfect Fire Dance of Dawning Light: My Dance, Fire and Dawn| she moved on top of the wall, her brother behind her providing support as she cleaved through any monster that climbed the wall next to her. The fire from the towers and other ranged users was focused on the bridge-types, trying to bring them down.

As more and more monsters climbed up, she activated her [Dawnfire Immolation] and orange flames surrounded her.

Quickly, she realized that there seemed to be no end to the monsters, and she started to burn her cooldowns in a panic. She triggered her Spear Trance and Valkyries Might, then released her Valkyries Shout, stunning every enemy on the wall around her.

Her spear blazed with orange fire as she focused her will into her |Perfect Flaming Crescent|. She cut down every monster on the wall around her, but a moment later more replaced them. Then, she felt her stats rise, then a moment later rise again. She saw a person glowing with dawnfire nearby, holding a shield and a golden spear that twisted as if it had a will of its own. Then she turned into a tall woman made out of dawnfire. With Nayra on the wall, everyone around them had their stats increased, and Reyla raised her spear to the sky, using her Beacon of Dawn. The light blinded for a moment, making the monsters pause. With the pillar of light around her, all of her abilities that were stronger in the day gained their bonuses. Her beacon allowed her to summon the light of dawn, meaning that even at night she could benefit from dawnfire. With both hers and Nayras powers now boosted they continued to fight. Pushing the monsters off the wall and taking down a few of the bridge-types. But even with a moment of respite, there didnt seem to be an end to the enemy horde.

And then, a curtain of blue fire fell on the ground beyond the wall, scorching everything in its way.

Reyla finished the monsters around her and then looked to the sky. Her brother, Erik had returned.

Reyla walked the battlements, making her way across the dead bodies. Quickly she reached her destination, a small group of people standing above the bodies of three guards of the House Ornn. Nayra was kneeling next to them, hand touching one of the bodies.

Nayra, Reyla said as she approached. Looming nearby were the four guards of House Ornn, Nayras ever present companions. Seeing them made Reyla grimace, but she tried to ignore them.

Nayra ignored Reylas approach and greeting, making her sigh in defeat. She had tried to speak with her, to try an fix their issues, but it was hard to accomplish anything when Nayra hated them all.

Please Nayra, I just want to talk, Reyla said again.

Her sister raised her head and met her eyes. There is nothing that we could talk about.

Reyla closed her eyes. Nayra had been kept under close guard for months after Erik brought her back. Only once the enemy pushed and forced everyone to the wall, had she been allowed to fight. When Nayra had first fought, Reyla had hoped that it was a good sign, but In the end, while Nayra might understand the threat that their enemy posed she didnt care about the Empire or their family. She only fought because that meant that she was allowed to leave the camp, and because she could grow stronger.

Nayra stood up and then with one last look filled with anger and frustration thrown at Reyla, she pulled the space in front of her apart and stepped through into the Ethereal Realm.

Reyla sighed and turned around. Her sister had been given permission to try and help the souls of those serving House Ornn, as her Class embodied. But despite the things between them being as they were, Reyla always felt anxious seeing her cross into the Ethereal Realm. She knew that Nayra couldnt escape, she could only exit in the same place where she entered, and not even she was crazy enough to try and escape through the Ethereal Realm.

Reyla walked away, heading in the direction where she left Emrys. She needed his advice. Things could remain this way between her and Nayra for much longer.

Titles

Third Heritage

Was born to the Rankers of the Third Iteration

+5% to all stats, 500 Greater Essence

Great Feat

Kill a tier one monster with at least 10x your total stats without help from someone with Essence before obtaining a Class, Path, or Skill

+Choose a Legendary Class, Path, or Skill. Gain a Unique Perk.

Adventurer

Hunted more than 100 monsters

+5 to all stats, 5 Greater Essence

Hero of Promise

Save more than 10 people with a single action

+5 to all stats, 5000 Essence

One Against Many

Fight against more than 10 opponents and win

+5 to all stats, 5000 Essence

Class Evolution V

Evolved your class for the fifth time.

+60 to all stats, 5000 Greater Essence

Freezing Burrow

First to clear the Freezing Burrow Dungeon

+2% to all stats, 50 000 Greater Essence

True Understanding II

Evolve a skill to tier 6 (Evolved 2 skills to tier 6)

+20 to all stats, 20 000 Greater Essence(per evolved skill)

Spirit Hallow

First to clear the Spirit Hallow Dungeon

+2% to all stats, 50 000 Greater Essence

Apprentice Liegewoman: Ornn Houshold

Complete 10 contributions for your faction of a difficulty equal or greater than your tier of power.

+5 to all stats, 1000 Greater Essence

Howling Gorge

First to clear the Howling Gorge Dungeon

+2% to all stats, 50 000 Greater Essence

Journeywoman Liegewoman: Ornn Houshold

Complete 25 faction tasks that are no more than two tiers of power below you in difficulty.

+25 to all stats,5000 Greater Essence

Elite Liegewoman: Ornn Houshold

Complete 100 faction tasks that are no more than two tiers of power below you in difficulty.

+50 to all stats,10 000 Greater Essence

Beyond Understanding I

Focus and specialize your understanding of a tier 6 skill.

+250 to all stats, 100 000 Greater Essence (per focused skill)

Perks

Twin Link(Unique) (Unique Perk)

Your mind is linked with that of your twin, allowing you to speak to one another regardless of the distance.

Valkyries Descent (Class Perk)

Once per combat, jump high into the air and then descend toward targeted area and stab your weapon into the ground, releasing a shockwave around you. Strength of effect depends on strength stat.

Heat Resistance (Class Perk)

Your body is resistant to fire. 20% passive heat resistance, gain additional 1% heat resistance for every fifteen points of endurance. (Currently 50.13%)

Goddess of Speed (Class Perk)

Once per combat, double your dexterity for two strikes.

Thousand Cuts (Class Perk)

Every injury you inflict that draws blood heals 20% slower and bleeds for 10% more.

Rapid Recovery (Class Perk)

Once per combat, heal a non-lethal injury. Speed of recovery equals twice your vitality.

True Classer (Class Perk)

All cooldowns for your abilities are halved.

Classers Hand (Class Perk)

Effectiveness of all Class abilities is increased by 25%

Embodying the Spear (Class Perk)

Increases the leveling speed of any skill that can be used with a spear by 400%.

Valkyrie's Shout (Class Perk)

Once per combat release a powerful shout that stuns nearby enemies. The effectiveness of the stun depends on your opponent's resistances.

Spear Trance (Class Perk)

Once per combat, enter a spear trance for one minute. All your spear based powers are 15% more effective.

Valkyrie's Might (Class Perk)

Once per combat double your strength for thirty seconds.

Dawnspear (Class Perk)

Increases the leveling speed of any skill that can be used with a spear by 200%. Any Dawnfire powers used with a spear are 20% more effective.

Dawnfire Raging Strike (Class Perk)

Three times per combat execute a an attack that sends a raging torrent of Dawnfire forward.

Dawnfire Regeneration (Class Perk)

Once per day, consume any Dawnfire still burning around you and heal yourself by the amount of damage that the fire did before it was consumed.

Critical Attack (Class Perk)

Your attacks against injured opponents deal 20% more damage.

Dawnspirit Regeneration (Class Perk)

Increases the leveling speed of any skill that can be used to heal the soul by 200%. All Dawnspirit powers are 20% more effective.

Dawnspirit Reflection (Class Perk)

Once per combat you may release a cone shaped attack that will deal damage equal to the amount of damage that you have suffered that combat as soul damage.

Dawspirit Aegis (Class Perk)

Once per week you may create a defensive force around your soul that will protect you from soul damage. The amount of damaged that the aegis can take before breaking depends on your intelligence stat.

Dawnspirit Rending (Class Perk)

Once per combat unleash a powerful soul rending attack that interupts power use for 1 second.

Soul Sanctuary (Class Perk)

Release a powerful blast of light that creates a sanctuary around you, healing and calming the souls inside.

Dawn Beam (Class Perk)

Twice per combat, unleash a concentrated beam of light from the tip of your weapon inflicting 2x your intelligence as scorching damage.

Dawn and Fire Dance (Skill Perk)

Your My Dance, Fire and Dawn seeps into your movements. Once per week you may activate Fire and Dawn Dance, unleashing intense light and fire around you that move in step with your movements. +10% to dexteirty

Beacon of Dawn (Class Perk)

Summon the light of dawn. This light lasts for ten minutes and counts as the light of the day.

Fire of Dawn (Class Perk)

Once per day, imbue one of your abilities with Fire of Dawn, increasing any fire-related damage it deals by 100%

Class

Valkyrie of Dawn ( M )

Level

359

Combat Ability

Dawn Mirage

Movement Ability

Dawn Rush

Support Ability

Dawnfire Immolation

EVOLUTION ATTUNEMENT BONUS:

Shepard for the Souls

You are able to see souls. All Ethereal based powers are 20% more effective. All special attacks deal 1.5% of total damage dealt as soul damage. Gain +10% to strength and wisdom.

Dawnfire

All fire based powers now create Dawnfire, an intense fire that is extremely hard to put out and burns more intensely during the day. All fire based powers are 20% more effective. All special attacks deal 1% of total damage dealt as soul damage. Gain +10% to strength and wisdom.

Dawnspirit

All Dawnfire abilities gain 50% more effectiveness in the Ethereal Realm. Your soul regenerates at 200% faster rate. Gain +10% to strength and intelligence.

Dawn

Your stats are increased by 20% from the moment the moon turns into the sun, until midday. Relevant abilities and perks changes. Your abilities are 20% more effective. Gain 15% to dexterity and intelligence.

Passive Skills

Active Skills

Perfect Fire Dance of Dawning Light: My Dance, Fire and Dawn

Stab >> Greater Stab >> Piercing Stab >> Greater Piercing Stab >> Penetrating Stab

Night Eyes >> Greater Night Eyes >> Night Vision >> Greater Night Vision

Perfect Flaming Crescent

Power Sense >> Greater Power Sense >> Appraisal >> Enhanced Aprasial >> Relative Capability Sense

Throw >> Greater Throw >> Spear Throw >> Greater Spear Throw >> Flaming Spear Throw

Introspection >> Enhanced Introspection >> Contemplation >> Enhanced Contemplation >> Soulsearch

Meditation >> Enhanced Meditation >> Resolve >> Enhanced Resovle >> Inner Strength

Mind Resistance >> Greater Mind Resitance >> Mind Wall >> Greater Mind Wall >> Mind Sphere

Trance >> Enhanced Trance >> Regenerative Trance >> Enhanced Regenerative Trance >> Soul Regenerative Trance

Strength

1220

Dexterity

2116

Vitality

753

Endurance

752

Intelligence

1078

Wisdom

724

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