The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [103] Sky Bridge

Bjorn had long since lost track of time which is why he had to rely on Failsafe's timekeeping. There was no sun here, no moon, no stars to mark the passage of days. The aurora overhead never faded, shifting in its ghostly colors, casting eerie light upon the floating skylands. The distant glow of the Flaming Forest burned against the sky like an angry false sun.

Challenges rose as the mana hurricane continued to peel back the secrets of the world and yet, despite the odds, he was still alive. Six months had passed since the rock beast had nearly taken his life, since he had clung to the jagged cliffs of the mountain, blood pouring from his severed limb as he forced himself to descend. The wound had long healed, his Hydra Regeneration worked as it always did, but the lesson remained carved into his mind.

Never assume the ground beneath your feet is safe. Never assume the world is what it seems. The Chaos Lands had a way of teaching through pain, and Bjorn had been a fast learner.

There was no room for arrogance here, any power he gained helped him to survive but not thrive. No room for missteps, he was but one danger away from death. He had encountered monsters unlike anything he thought possible, horrifying, twisted things that lurked in the dark corners of the world. Some of them were relentlessly matching him in power, resilience and in some terrifying cases intellect.

It was not just the creatures that sought to kill him. The land itself was his enemy. More than once, he had nearly fallen victim to collapsing terrain or the mana hurricane's twisting of the land beneath his feet. There were times in which raw magic that warped the atmosphere into something that burned his lungs, forcing him to retreat into the few safe zones he had mapped out.

"Bjorn, it's happening again we need to retreat!" Failsafe yelled.

"Already moving as fast as I can." Bjorn said as he galloped.

"Move faster!"

The weather was unpredictable, storms rolling through the skylands in bursts of chaotic energy, their winds sharp enough to flay flesh from bone. As he ran one of his heads watched a winged monster caught in a forming storm, its body twisted and torn apart before it was pulled screaming into the abyss.

"Trues, it's nearly here, did you see that?" Failsafe said.

Bjorn saw the cave he had been using as a safehaven up ahead. Behind him the wind cut up the landscape as if invisible blades carved sections of the ground out. He had only a few steps when he felt the wind at his back. Then he was through the entrance of the cave. The slicing wind hit with force and flung him deep inside.

He was in a heap, breathing heavily as he turned to look at the storm billowing outside. There was no peace here. Only survival but that alone was not progress. Bjorn had explored several other floating skylands, all of them close enough to risk the journey. Each had been dangerous, filled with strange and deadly creatures, but none of them had what he was looking for. No mana crystals or mana trees on any of the skylands and worst no way down.

He was going to go back to the main skyland. It was time to see what the sleeping monster was guarding. That place was different than the smaller skylands. The creatures that lived there weren't just predators. The few times he had dared to stray too deep, he had felt their eyes on him, felt the weight of something old pressing against his mind. The Sanguine Traveler had tried to lure him in more than once, guiding him toward whatever horrors lay deeper in that cursed forest.

The monsters in the forest were unlike anything he had ever seen. There was no reckless aggression, no mindless charge toward prey. These things waited, watched, calculating their movements with an intelligence that sent a chill down Bjorn's spine. Even now, after six months, he still felt as though he was being observed and that meant he had to be careful.