Episode 58: The Land of Aranuk
Elahar, Brakka, Caron, and William arrived at the land where Aranuk was said to lie sleeping. The place was barren—covered in rock and gravel, devoid of any sign of life. The landscape, a dull wash of gray, looked as if the earth itself had hardened into stone.
Unsure they'd come to the right place, William wandered the flats, muttering, "They say it's here… but I don't see anything special." He picked up a stone and rolled it in his hand, then toed at the gravel, but nothing he found gave him confidence this was the resting place of a legendary being.
Caron felt the air around them and focused. The flow of mana here moved… differently. Closing his eyes, he pressed his fingertips to the ground and murmured, "Something is here. The mana isn't behaving normally. Deep below, something is waiting to awaken."
Elahar looked between William and Caron. "We aren't searching for a mere golem. This is a true guardian—one with the earth itself. To wake it, we cannot just shout or strike. We must understand its bond with the land."
Brakka stood with boots crushed into the scree, spreading his arms. "So… no waking it with one big hit? Complicated rituals aren't really my style." He joked, but a hint of impatience edged his face.
William nodded to Elahar. "Then we need a way to connect to this place." He went back to combing the stones for the slightest sign.
Caron rose slowly and extended his hand, eyes brightening as if something had clicked. "The mana here is calm—but held in balance. I think we need to join that balance. Elahar, you carry elven wisdom. You know the old ways of speaking with the land. It's time we all listen to the flow."
Elahar closed his eyes and set his palm upon the ground. Heavy, slow waves thrummed through his fingertips. The earth breathed like a giant in a deep sleep. He exhaled. "What matters is not merely waking it. We must first show respect for this land and understand its will—only then will it rise."
Following his lead, William placed his hand on the earth and shut his eyes. He realized how hard he'd chased elven grace and finesse—forgetting the Cronatian power in his blood. Just standing here, he could feel the weight and strength of the land, a force handed down from his troll lineage. At last, he began to understand it.
Brakka set his palm to the ground in silence. A natural sense of connection welled up through his frame; this was a power to be respected. Caron cupped his hands, letting mana flow gently outward, matching its rhythm.
The ground began to tremble. Massive stones shifted; gravel slid. A resonance welled from the depths, as if a colossal being stirred. Hairline cracks opened in the surface—and from within emerged a vast structure of stone and metal.
Aranuk.
The giant opened his eyes and regarded them. Metal gleamed in his gaze; his body moved with the deliberate weight of the earth itself. When he spoke, his voice was low and deep, vibrating through the soil. "Who are you that wake me? Have you come in reverence for the earth?"
Elahar bowed his head. "We sought you, Aranuk, guardian of the land. We wish to be bound to your will and lend our strength to protecting the earth."
Only then did William fully grasp why he was here. He had tried to walk Elahar's path, but now understood he must honor the earth in his own way. As a Cronatian, his road would be neither elf nor troll—it would be his own.
Aranuk considered in silence, then nodded. "Very well. If you understand and respect the land, you are worthy to stand with me. If you are ready to inherit this will, I will walk with you."
Thus Elahar and his companions formed an accord with Aranuk. In learning to connect to the earth and accept its power, each of them grew inwardly. William embraced his identity; Elahar readied himself to continue a true journey with new allies. Ahead lay a greater adventure—one walked together with the land.
**
Episode 59: A Brief March with Aranuk
For a time, Elahar, Brakka, Caron, and William traveled with Aranuk, listening to the old tales and secrets of the earth he carried within him. The giant of metal and stone knew the histories of ages past. At his unhurried pace, they followed mountain paths.
He led them to a ridge scarred by ruin. The mountain looked as if some titanic hand had split it apart; rock and rubble lay strewn everywhere. Here and there, deep gouges told of a force unimaginably heavy and strong—signs of a cataclysm long ago.
Aranuk lifted a massive hand toward the range and spoke, his voice rolling through the ground. "This is a land I remember from the elder days. In the beginning, all the continents were one. The earth touched itself end to end, and at the Titans' command we tended and guarded it."
Elahar listened in quiet thought, eyes reflecting a distant past. "Then this mountain… why was it torn apart?"
Aranuk turned to him. "One day, the earth convulsed. A shift we were not prepared for. With that upheaval, Astralium broke away. The land split, and what had been one became many."
As his words faded, the ground shivered again. A deep, subterranean hum rose; stones rattled underfoot. Caron felt for the mana at his feet, a wary look in his eye.
"This power… it's ancient and unfinished. Its remnants are still here," he said, unease threading his voice.
Brakka laid a hand on a boulder and muttered, "So that's how this continent drifted apart. And the Titans' sway… it weakened from that point?"
Aranuk inclined his head. "Yes. After the sundering, the Titans' influence waned, and we guardians largely fell asleep. With the land divided, our role lost its meaning."
Caron sighed. "So most Aranuk slept through the ages. The world forgot them, but the duty of guarding the earth was never truly over."
Aranuk gazed toward a distant spine of peaks. "The land has sustained its balance without us. But I would not see it stand alone any longer. We need each other. If the earth is to be quiet again, we will need people like you."
Brakka grinned. "So we become new guardians of the land? I can live with that."
Caron nodded. "To keep its calm and balance, we'll fight—and we would have you with us."
Elahar lifted his face to the giant. "With you beside us, we'll be stronger. We'll hold this place so it never shakes like that again."
Behind them, William closed his eyes. He had followed Elahar and Brakka in pursuit of strength, but Aranuk's story showed him a different reason to walk on—not just to become strong, but to find his own way as a Cronatian. Between elf and troll, he would accept himself and turn that balance into purpose.
When Aranuk finished, William spoke softly, certainty in his tone. "I think… I should return home." He bowed his head. "Coming this far was meaningful. Lord Elahar, Brakka, Caron—because of you, I know what I need to do. Whether guarding the earth or protecting my own people… it's my turn to step forward."
Elahar met his eyes in warm understanding. Brakka flashed a crooked smile. "Good, William. Walk the road you've chosen. What we shared was worth it."
Caron added quietly, "Even if your path is rough, hold pride in your choice. We walk different roads, but I believe they lead toward a common purpose."
William thanked them, turned, and began the journey back. He knew where to go now. He would no longer follow—he would find his own way.
Elahar, Brakka, Caron, and Aranuk watched him go. In their separate paths they felt the same truth: the earth, and all who live upon it, are bound together. And so, another new journey began.
**
Episode 60: The Arrival of the Oath of Light
After parting ways with William, Elahar, Brakka, and Caron prepared to take their leave of Aranuk as well. Half-sunk into the earth, the giant watched them quietly.
"I will remain and fulfill my role here," Aranuk rumbled. "You must walk your own road. There is still much on this land that needs guarding."
Elahar bowed his head to accept the charge; Brakka and Caron offered their respect as well. The farewell was brief but weighty, and they fixed their short time with Aranuk firmly in their hearts.
Just then, a low, measured chant drifted from beyond the trees—calm on its surface, but with a cutting edge. Caron frowned and turned his head. "A hymn to the Light… They're here."
Elahar and Brakka looked the same way. Soon, knights stepped from the forest, armor emblazoned with radiant sigils. Paladins of the Oath of Light. Shields of an unusual cut, spears, and blank expressions—their eyes burned with fanatic resolve.
"That lot…" Brakka muttered. "The same paladins you fought before, right? The Oath of Light?"
Caron nodded. "Not ordinary knights. They absolutize their creed in the Light's name. Fanatics."
Elahar's voice was cool. "Look at their eyes. They'll justify anything for the Light they serve."
One paladin advanced, a gold-embroidered mantle over his shoulders. His voice was calm and commanding. "We hear something forbidden has awakened here. For the god's return, we will remove all obstacles. Any who resist will be judged in the name of the Light."
Brakka clicked his tongue. "The god's return… So they'll do anything under that banner? What are they thinking?"
"They sacralize their end," Caron said flatly. "If we stand in the way, they will call us enemies."
Elahar slid his blade free. "We may have to stop them—but not by rushing in blind. First we learn why they came."
At an unspoken signal the paladins stepped as one, movements drilled and unified. Each bore a triangular kite shield whose honed edges glinted—no mere defense, but weapons meant to kill.
"They don't use shields just to block," Caron growled. "Those edges are for blood. Their purpose is not knightly—it's crusade."
"Fanatics," Brakka spat, eyeing the oncoming line. "They even turned a shield into a butcher's tool."
The paladins surged and shouted, "Bound in Light, we live as one— and die as one!" Power rippled between them, a visible tether of brilliance hard as iron. A blood-bond: their life force shared and woven together, each strengthening the whole.
"We have to weaken that bond," Elahar said, tracking their formation. "A frontal clash will be ugly while they're a single body."
"Then I'll make a gap," Brakka barked, hefting his axe. "If their bond wobbles, they'll fall."
Sigils along their armor flared. One paladin raised his shield high. "Beacon of Light—fortify our covenant!" A pillar of radiance speared the sky and wrapped the line. Wounds knit; their linkage hardened again.
Caron scowled. "They're healing through that Beacon. Sheer force won't do."
"Then don't let them set the beacon," Brakka snarled, crashing into the line. "Drop one—any one!"
Elahar darted through, disrupting their attempt to re-center. The paladins swung their knife-edged shields like guillotines; the razor tips turned defense into lethal offense. Elahar slipped the cuts and thought, They've perverted the shield itself… a weapon to break, not to guard.
Some swung the bladed rims while others loosed swords of light across the field, waves of radiance forcing the trio to evade.
Caron answered with shadow—veils to blind, snares to tangle—fraying the paladins' cohesion. "If we don't break their link, they'll keep mending. Make an opening."
Brakka slammed down, cracking shield after shield; Elahar flowed into the breach, striking at the bond's nexus. Axe and blade hit in concert; the paladins reeled, their beacon sputtering.
At last Elahar's sword pierced the heart of the linkage. The tether snapped. Light unraveled; the "one body" fell apart. With their certainty shaken, the paladins collapsed by twos and threes.
When the field fell quiet, Elahar exhaled. "Their conviction was strong—but on a crooked path, strength only hastens the fall."
Brakka lowered his axe and nodded. "They even lost what they meant to protect. Forgot what truly matters."
Caron watched them in silence. "Light and shadow should balance. These were souls who lost their way under the Light's name."
The three set out once more, the lesson of Light, shadow, and "bond" weighing in their chests—and their resolve, newly tempered.