The Sentinel

It’s unknown if mankind was born from the forests of the Middle Kingdoms, or if they were colonists, carving out a chunk of the wild and dangerous frontier. Was their god’s protection done to keep them safe from the forest, or to keep them away from it? That answer was lost to time eons ago, and those who could speak to the god Alfrahim weren’t going to ask the question. What they did know was that they were all alone, left to their own devices in the grand scheme of things. There was no meddling from the outside worlds, no ubiquitous species set to ruin this sacred land, no dwarves, no orcs. The only other sentient species to walk these lands were the rare immortal elves, who’ve inhabited the world long before humans.

The middle kingdoms were strictly off limits. The only travelers allowed into the Middle Kingdoms were the Sentinels.

And as a Sentinel, Jun stuck out like a sore thumb. Her knowledge of the world was lacking. It was a point that junior Sentinels should always dive into new worlds head on. It helped break any sense of superiority that they could’ve built up at their headquarters. It humbled them. However, Jun may have been too dense for that. Even after a few days of travel she had not adjusted in the slightest, bearing the dress of her home realm as if it wasn’t immodest in the slightest. The realm had no concept of digital clothes, after all.

“Excuse me sir?” She asked a wandering merchant on the road. “Do you know the way to the Outer Wilds?”

“Good lord, woman! Put some clothes on!”

She would always pull on her skin. It was fabric. It was tangible. It was just skin tight, sparkling with magical lines and cubes. She had a cape too, which glittered like the stars, and a witch’s hat wider than her, and ordained with trinkets and jewels. It was as if everything was built to draw attention to her, like a red-headed, glowing mushroom.

“Besides,” the merchant huffed. “You can find the Outer Wilds anywhere. Just go any direction and you’ll find it eventually.”

“But where’s the closest?”

He pointed north.

“I’m also looking for a magical instructor. Do you know where I can find that?”

He looked like he was about to kill her. “The other way! Why are you looking for wizards out here!?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know where I am! I’m learning!”

The merchant grimaced. What a stupid brat. She barely had to be over fifteen. Was she some nobleman’s daughter? It’d be the only reason she’d look so lavish, holding a staff that ornate.

He figured it was worth a shot, so the second she turned around, he took a dagger and stabbed her in the back of the head. He took and did what he willed with her, making sure all of her jewels and trinkets were properly pilfered before he dumped her body into the local woods. A clean kill, no witnesses. He made it out like a bandit.

In the evening, the merchant looked at his spoils again to make sure they were there. They were not.

“Why is everyone so mean to me?” the Sentinel asked, crying over an evening lager a dozen miles away. She had followed his instructions and found herself near the treeline. “I don’t even have any money worth stealing.”

“Miss,” the bartender asked. “How are you going to pay for that?”

She looked down at her evening meal and up at the bartender. She hadn’t considered it either. It’s not like she’s had to use money in the past. The best she could do was reach for her staff and wave it in the middle aged man’s face.

He wasn’t amused. “What are you doing?”

“Fixing your back.”

“Don’t try to fool me with- oh. Oh, now that you mention it.” The man stretched back as if he was a gymnast. A deep, relieved smile grew on his face. He wiped it away. “You’ll stay upstairs for tonight.”

Jun drooped. “Does that mean I still owe you?”

The town the Sentinel found herself in was a logging town, one of many on the outer fringes of the kingdoms. Because of its narrow pass in and its pass out, the area was known as Turnstile, and its wealth came from its ability to process the towering great trees from the neverending forest, and bring them inland for refinement into building components. Everything around her was made from the labor of these hard people. With the expansion of Afrahim’s light, they could bring more resources back to the kingdoms’ center. Many would kill for resource production like this..

“They say that one tree can supply a single Kingdom for a year. The trees are fireproof and have magical components that make for good infinite torches and magic staves. Don’t see too many of them, though.”

“Magicians don’t travel up this far?” Jun asked.

“Not unless they’re a cultist. If they weren’t a follower, why’d they come here?”

“I imagine fighting some nasty beasts. That’s what I’ve heard.”

“Yeah the old m-.” He stopped, and the grizzled man placed his hand over his mouth, as if to hold something in. He sighed. “You’re a Sentinel, yeah?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re an agent of the gods, sent to keep the peace in situations that could spread across the realms, yeah?” He leaned in with a hushed tone. “Are you coming for him?”

“Who?” Jun asked.

“The Tyrant?”

She tilted her head like a cat.

“Beck?”

“Never heard of him.”

“The most evil wizard who’s ever walked this astral plane? The Champion of KC? The Lord of Dark Magic?”

She stuffed her face with starchy vegetables. “I’m here for training, and to find a master. I wasn’t told about a dark wizard.”

For a moment, the bartender looked like his soul left his body. Did Alfrahim not hear their pleas? Were they not worthy? “You need a-...Forget it.”

“No, continue.” Jun nodded. “If he knows magic, then I’m curious.”

“No, you don’t understand. He’s dead. Beck the Betrayer died during the battle of Murr. It’s none of your concern.”

“Was he like a revolutionary? My teachers back home are some tough cookies. They’ve done crazy things according to their stories.”

“He was a peddler of black magic. He would send his goons out into the fringes like this place and kidnap anyone who had any sort of magical potential. We’d never see them again.”

Jun took a drink, a little taken aback. She let the man continue.

“This whole realm went to hell because of him. We’ve had to survive on our own for some time. I…couldn’t even think of bringing a child into this world. They say he was a madman by the end of his reign. Even his most ardent supporters couldn’t figure out his motives in those final months, those we executed at least.”

“I don’t get how you can be a wizard and insane.” Jun shook her head. “I wouldn’t know how to study.”

“He wasn’t always like that. My father met him in his younger days. He’d go into the Outer Wilds, just like you are, to practice against the enormous beasts there.” The bartender turned to pull his own ale from the spout. “He called him a paragon, the greatest man he ever knew. Strong, polite, honorable. He and his wife figured out how to make crystals that float around and do magic for you. It’s a damn shame.”

“Do you miss him?” Jun asked.

“No one misses him. That’s why I’m telling you now to watch out. Those forests. I’ve heard stories from the lumberjacks. There’s a spirit out there. The ghost of Beck may be out in those wilds, stalking, waiting.” He took a drink. “Though I don’t know what’s worse, the monsters or the KC goons? God, I hate magic.”

“Don’t worry about me. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” She answered this confidently, so the bartender didn’t press it. However, both couldn’t be farther from the truth.