Chapter 11: My Master

I was being slapped awake. Or so I thought going by the pain in my cheeks.

While I was unconscious, I caught glimpses of the events, which weren't much. The skill Shadow Warp which was forcefully activated, was like a storm tossing and throwing me around.

I remember fragments where I regained consciousness. They were moments filled with horrifying images and feelings of my body being ripped apart, like it was in a blizzard.

I do not remember anything after that. No Shadowmancy skill, I have used before, ever felt like that. For a moment I felt invincible and next I felt helpless. It was a stupid and useless skill. If i would i would take back my awe and momentary admiration.

"Wake up, kid!" I thought I heard my Master. Her strong and authoritative, yet gentle voice.

With another strong slap across my face, my master woke me up.

"Get up and get moving, kiddo," my master said. It really was my master waking me up.

My master was a dragonkin. She was a half dragon and half shadow elf. And one of the strongest Shadowmancers I have ever known. She is also the head of the Messengers Guild of all of Celestia.

Do I sound too proud? Its because I am. She is the most amazing Shadowmancer. And if I dare say, one of the most beautiful ones too.

Her name is Lilith Threll.

Standing 5 feet 2 inches tall, with black hair having a violet hue and dark purple eyes, she slapped me again to wake me up.

"How long are you going to lie there for?" She kept looking around.

"What happened," I asked, half asleep?

"Where is he?" She continued to look around while asking me.

"Who?" It took me a while to process. My brain was still rebooting from the aftereffects of the violent transportation.

"The man you went to deliver the letter to. Where is he? He was supposed to be with you." She was clearly talking about the man who returned to Celestia with me.

"Wait. How do you know that," I asked in surprise?

She looked at me with an expression stating that I was asking a stupid and obvious question. "So where is he?" She dodged my question.

"How do you know about him," I repeated myself?

She continued to look around for him.

Her urgency reminded me of my contract as a scribe and a guide and I started looking around as well.

[Patch update beginning] The system message prompted.

Ignoring the system I looked around properly.

I was in a field of snow in the mountains west to my town.

These mountains were always covered in snow and we stood at the foot of the snow capped behemoths. I gaze up at the imposing peaks of the Frostveil Range, a relentless titan in the frozen heart of Celestia and think to myself, "Damn it!"

The snow-capped summits of Frostveil veiled in an eternal shroud of ice and mist. As frigid winds howl through the labyrinthine corridors of the mountains, I recognize the chill piercing its way to my core through my exposed skin.

A traveller once write a statement about the range in his guidebook, "Every step is fraught with peril, as hidden crevasses threaten to swallow the unwary traveller whole. Yet, despite the inhospitable terrain, the Frostveil Range is not devoid of life."

That's because within its icy embrace dwell creatures of unparalleled ferocity, their primal roars echoing off the sheer cliffs. They are the apex predators of these frozen wastes, ruling over their domain with ruthless efficiency. But they are not the only inhabitants of these forbidding peaks.

There are those who seek solace from the world, seeking refuge in the isolation of the mountains.

"He wouldn't survive long here," I thought to myself.

Now that I think about it, I didn't even know his name. But master seemed to know him, or at the very least, know of him.

"Who is he," I finally asked?

She quietly turned to me in deep thought and then replied, "Let's find him first." She tossed a coat at me and then headed towards the mountains, to look for the man.

She is someone who taught me everything I know. She is also the one who gave me a place to belong and a reason to keep moving. She was the reason I am who I am today.

So seeing her this way, desperately looking for someone unknown, made me uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable!

She noticed my discomfort and said, "Don't worry. It will all make sense in a bit. Just wait a bit longer."

I sighed and replied, "I trust you, master. So where do we head to?"

After thinking a little with her forefinger pressed against her temple, she replied with an eureka moment, "I think I know where he might be!"

Without a moment's delay, she paced forward into the Frostveil Range. She was using her mana to keep the chill of the mountains at bay. Her short stature would often be mistaken for someone weak. But that only applied to those who had no concept or means of perceiving their opponent's strength.

Every time she used her mana, she would exude the domineering presence befitting her position as the head of the Messenger Guild in Celestia and one of the strongest Shadowmancers I have ever known.