The Land: Raiders (Chaos Seeds, #6)

by Aleron Kong

As dismayed as he was at the deaths of his men, Richter was relieved that it hadn’t been worse. They had attacked a numerically superior force and destroyed them. If nothing else, the battle had proven what his grandfather had told him when he a child. The plain-speaking, retired soldier had been telling old war stories and had impressed one point on his wide-eyed grandson: there is no replacement for training and superior weaponry.

The goblin was lamenting having been summoned by the camp commander, may his member get pox and rot off.

I saw was a dirty human in roughspun clothes. What I felt, however, was that somehow a universe of possibilities stood before me. I told you that I did not detect evil in you, but that was not exactly true. My magic showed absolute horror and absolute beauty coexisting in one moment, and a completely blank slate in the next. I believe I have taken your measure, Master Richter, and in my opinion you are more likely to choose good than evil. It does not change that all of these amazing and horrible things are happening however, and they all seem to involve you.” Richter just looked at her with his mouth slightly open, “I don’t know what to tell you. I’m just me.” Hisako finally broke her stare, and looked back at the table, “We shall see, Master Richter. We shall see.”

“As is within so shall be without.”

Never forget, the only thing that makes the journey worthwhile is each other.

History had shown again and again that ignoring evil because it did not affect you was a short-sighted and often deadly mistake. One of the most powerful memories Richter had was his father taking him to the Holocaust Museum as a child. The stories and images had been terrible for him at the young age of eight. Still, his father hadn’t hidden any of the truth. They had walked through the museum, seen the pictures and listened to the tales of horror. His father hadn’t stressed the suffering of those who had passed, though the man had held him as he cried. His dad hadn’t stressed the evil men were capable of, though he had stood by him as his son was horrified. What Richter remembered more than anything else was his father reading a quote. It was written outside of the museum on a memorial, words immortalized on a block of grey stone. First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me. Richter remembered standing there with his father as people walked by. His fingers had been so small inside of his father’s large, warm hand. Though more than a decade had passed, he still remembered the simple message that had been conveyed when his father finally spoke. Gentle, yet stern, apol...

It was important to do the right thing, and not for a reward, but because it was the right thing. It was also important to realize that, sometimes, there was a cost. His jaw firmed. If the price to save his village and the majority of his people was blood, then it was a price he would pay. His lips fixed themselves into a snarl though, and he promised himself that the lion’s share of that particular bill would be paid by his enemies.

Why the gods felt the need to stretch people so tall when four feet is the perfect height, I will never know.”

“Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.”

“Assumptions create barriers in your own mind. By taking shortcuts in logic, you wall yourself off from true enlightenment.”

it was the correct application of power that mattered, not power in and of itself.

We are only lost when we believe the evil of this world is beyond our ability to defeat it.

The Bloodstone had learned long ago that those who manipulated power were easily seduced by the promise of more.

“God Crafted” or not, he wasn’t about to believe the part about it not being evil. He had heard its voice. Even if it wasn’t evil, it sure as shit wasn’t friendly.

“Choose your next words wisely. Tell me why you should live. Speak carefully, or I swear to any gods that may be listening, I will personally butcher you all.”

Choice is the essence of Chaos.

As soon as Richter clasped the jewel, The Land itself took notice and Richter reeled under the gravity of what had just happened. The Light and Dark courts were thrown into upheaval. Gods and demons stared hungrily from exile and attempted to reenter The Land, only to find that the old wards still held. Forgotten demigods and monsters of wonder stirred in their barrows, and not all went back to sleep. The Land was changed, and dreams and nightmares evolved into miracles and cataclysms.

The two friends ran for their lives. “What’s happening?” Enalise cried as she started running as well. “He happened!” Sion snapped as he sprinted for the surface. “He’s always touching things!”

There was no doubt in her heart that Richter had planned to use the Bloodstone to save them. He just hadn’t known something that every child born of The Land understood. Some powers could not be controlled.

<<You will not deny me, Blood mage!>> Rage built in Richter’s heart, and he spoke inside his own mind with a voice he didn’t know he was capable of, <<Yes. I will.>>