Rayne Read online

  Rayne

  By Blake Severson

  The Dimensional Wars: Origins

  Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved

  To my wife and kids, for the constant support and the time you give up for me to pursue this passion.

  Prologue

  Plans of a Goddess

  Lianna sat back in her white chair and enjoyed the chilled wine she was sipping on. If the mortal races got anything right, it was probably the creation of wine. She mused to herself. The surrounding space would have been a shock to any average person. Everything as far as the eye could see was a broad expanse of solid white and had no definable end.

  Her serenity broke as she heard the disturbance in her personal area. With a heavy sigh, she faced the new intruder.

  “To what infernal hell do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Aidan?” she said with a scowl.

  “Here I was, coming to check on a dear sister of mine, and this is the welcome I receive? No wonder we don’t see each other very often,” Aidan responded.

  “Of course we don’t. That’s what happens when we are constantly battling over worlds and followers, you fool.”

  “Still upset about the loss of your pet planet? What was it called again...” Aidan said as he tapped a finger to his jaw, “Oh, right, Dravincia. Not exactly the best of names, but I guess mortals have never been the greatest at naming anything.”

  Anger flared in Lianna’s eyes at the mention of the planet her sister, Isabell, took from her.

  “Get the hell out of my domain!” She yelled at Aidan.

  “But sister, I was here to extend an olive branch of sorts. You see, Isabell has been overextending herself, trying to conquer some planets from me. Quite honestly, she is doing a much better job at it than I hoped. I was hoping you may have some plans in motion to take back your pet planet and cause some distraction for me,” Aidan cooed with sickly sweetness.

  Her anger cooled, and she considered his words. Can I regain control of Dravincia if my sister is genuinely stretching herself too thin? I don’t have any champions or candidates in place to do anything yet but a little planning wouldn’t be terrible.

  “I see the gears turning,” Aidan continued. “Surely, you have a champion or two hiding and biding their power to take your world back?”

  She didn’t. She was losing hope of being able to take her favorite world back. This could change things, though.

  “I don’t have any followers on Dravincia. My sister did a good job of ensuring that when she took over. I might be able to drum up some resistance, but the people of that world are hopelessly weak. My sister does all she can with her cronies to make sure it stays that way. What would be in it for me if I were to distract her for you?”

  Aidan’s face took on a thoughtful look. “I’ll offer you a bonded truce between us for five hundred years. Is that agreeable?”

  Isabell must be truly making headway on his planets and followers if he was willing to offer a bonded truce for that span of time. Bonded truces were impossible to break for the Gods and Goddesses. Her decision was quick, though. Aidan was one of the few Gods she didn’t clash with often.

  “I accept. I’ll find some people on the planet to help groom into champions but can’t promise much. The state of that planet won’t allow much.” Lianna told him.

  “Why not recruit from another planet?”

  “Not many candidates are worthy on any of my other sentient planets. The few that have are actively holding off other Gods and Goddesses and I can’t move them,” she summarized.

  “Another dimension then?” he asked with a sly grin.

  “Ha, like I want that kind of attention. Not only do the other dimensions operate on different rules, but that would set off way too many flags if I pulled a sentient person from another dimension to help. The leveling mechanics of this dimension would do nothing but confuse those from other dimensions, that’s not even including the magic,” she said with a huff.

  “Are there none of the humans left with dimensional magic that can jump on their own?”

  Her mind swam at that, and she shook her head no. Aidan sighed and bid her good luck. He turned to leave and vanished in a flurry of sparkles.

  He had given her the key. She turned and her mind worked furiously. She knew of one person who was a dimension hopper. Their return to Dravincia wouldn’t set off any alarms. He wasn’t aware of this himself, but she could make that work to her advantage.

  With a plan in mind, she started mulling over options. This person she was bringing back to Dravincia would need help from some of the locals. It was time for her to find people that would be useful and help further her goals. Her mind wandered as she pictured a young man running through the streets and she smiled.

  Chapter 1

  The Torture of Home

  Rayne took off in a sprint through the alleys of the city. The sound of footsteps on the dirt behind him resounded in his ears. Yet again, he had run into the wrong group of people while he was out looking for something to eat.

  The city of Esmere was a sprawling city and the regional capital in the area. None other than the hated Lord Golgara ruled this city. He had been an absolute stain on the city, and conditions had been gradually decreasing for years. The sight of the large manor for one of Lord Golgara’s cronies had brought those unwelcome thoughts to his flight.

  The footsteps closed some of the distance behind him, and he snuck a peek over his shoulder. Three people were pursuing him, and he, unfortunately, knew who they were. In an effort to find something to eat, he had ventured into a part of town that had been claimed by this group of three boys. When they found him trying to steal from their area, they had chased after him. During his dash, he glimpsed a man that he thought may have been his useless father aimlessly wandering around town but couldn’t take the time to check.

  His hopes of escaping their grasp came to a screeching halt when his foot clipped an old crate on the edge of the alley. Rayne tumbled to the ground in a heap as his knee slid across the dirt, removing skin. Almost as fast as he fell, he was back on his feet, but it was too late. The leader of the group charged straight ahead and threw a wide punch at Rayne. Twisting to his right, Rayne avoided some of the damage, but the blow still hit him hard in the right shoulder.

  Damon (Level 6) has dealt 10 HP damage to you with Haymaker (Glancing Blow).

  Rayne stumbled backward and got his hands up to defend himself. Rayne snapped his leg out and kicked the now off balance Damon in the back of his knee.

  You have dealt 15 HP damage to Damon (Level 6) with Kick.

  Damon’s two companions were right behind him, and while Rayne had taken the chance to get a shot in on Damon, the other two had lined up attacks on Rayne. A quick punch to his left side caused pain in his ribs, while another blow caught him on the left shoulder.

  Brian (Level 5) has dealt 15 HP damage to you with Melee.

  Earl (Level 5) has dealt 15 HP damage to you with Melee.

  Damn, that shot to the ribs would hurt later. A quick hop backward gained him some distance from the attackers. There was no way he could take the three of them, and it would be foolish to try, but he wasn’t just going to stand by and take a beating.

  Brian charged toward him again while Earl hung back, and Damon was still trying to get back to his feet. The kick had done more damage to the guy’s knee than Rayne had thought. Brian came in with another wide swing, but instead of jumping out of the way, Rayne ducked under it and came up with a massive uppercut that lifted the boy off of his feet and tossed him backward.

  You have dealt 35 HP damage to Brian (Level 5) with Uppercut (Critical Hit).

  Rayne shook his hand as pain shot through it. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to keep it up. He flexed his fingers but brushed off the p
ain too late; Earl had moved fast, and his fist flew towards a startled Rayne’s face. He couldn’t deflect quick enough. Earl’s punch slammed home into his left eye and sent him reeling to the floor.

  Earl (Level 5) has dealt 25 HP damage to you with Haymaker.

  Rayne fell to the ground from the force of the punch. In desperation, he kicked out at Earl to keep the man from jumping on him. It pleased him to feel the thwack of his boot meeting skin, and Earl hunched over, holding his leg.

  You have dealt 20 HP damage to Earl (Level 5) with Kick.

  Rayne wasted no time getting back to his feet and turned to dash off again before Damon tackled him. Rayne had forgotten about him since he had been out of most of the fight. They both fell to the ground in a heap. Damon got the upper hand and maneuvered on top of Rayne. Damon had activated an ability, and three fast punches slammed into Rayne’s face.

  Damon (Level 6) has dealt 35 HP damage to you with Rapid Punch.

  “I told you to stay out of our territory you little shit!” Damon screamed at him.

  Rayne was starting to feel dizzy and nauseous. His health pool was quickly dropping lower, and this would be dangerous if he let it get too low. These guys wouldn’t wholly deplete the HP, but being unconscious in an alley didn’t sound like fun. Unlike other combat, unarmed combat typically wouldn’t kill a person. Instead, it would drop them to 1 HP and make them go unconscious. Once they recovered enough HP naturally, they would wake back up. The only other option would be to level up. Leveling up would fully restore any health or status effects that were not due to illness.

  Regardless, none of that was the desired outcome. Damon took another wild swing at him, but Rayne rolled this time, and Damon’s hand grazed past his face hitting the dirt with a deep thud. Rayne winced because it sounded painful, but when the man reared back in anguish, Rayne didn’t waste any time. He kicked his legs up hooking Damon around the head, and pulled him down backward. The boy’s head slammed into the dirt, and Rayne jumped back to his feet.

  You have dealt 40 HP damage to Damon (Level 6) with Slam (Critical Hit).

  All the enemies were now at least partially disabled. Instead of doing something foolish, like trying to pursue the fight, Rayne embraced his chance and fled. Back on his feet, he took off out of the alley and dashed down the nearest street. Some people yelled at him as he dashed past, but he ignored them. He weaved in and out of the streets and alleys until he was sure he had lost them for good.

  With his run-in with these guys, he was now back to square one. He hadn’t had the chance to snatch anything before the fools had seen him and started chasing him out of their area. There were other places he could try to find some food to steal, but it was already getting late. It looked like it would be another cold and hungry night tonight.

  The fall of the Firebrand family a century ago marked the initial change, and from that time, the entire country as a whole had been degrading. Rayne’s parents spoke of the past from when they were younger and had seen much of the decline themselves. Times were tough following the fall of the Firebrands and the rise of King Wailyn with his trusted nobles, but most of that was because of high taxes. In the last handful of years, it had been getting exponentially worse. The taxes were so high that most people couldn’t afford to live, and food was quickly becoming more and more scarce in the markets.

  This left Rayne with the option of starving or thievery. Naturally, he had chosen thievery. He had just reached his fourteenth year and was already well on his way to becoming a master thief. It wasn’t because he wanted to be a renowned thief, but he had to help his family. His sister meant the world to him, and he would do anything to help her.

  Navigating the streets, he made his way back home. Before he even made it through the door, he heard the yelling. His father was on another of his rampages. Rayne entered to a scene of chaos as his father was throwing things across the room at his mother.

  “That’s enough!” Rayne yelled at his father.

  His father, Lou, turned to face him with fury in his eyes.

  “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? You want to be next?” The man frothed.

  “Either calm down or leave. You can come back after you’re back to your worthless self,” Rayne told him with finality.

  Lou took a few quick steps and a hard backhanded blow came in quickly and shook Rayne as it met his left cheek. He took a step backward and regained his balance as he lifted his head back to meet his father’s eyes.

  Lou (Level 7) has dealt 25 damage to you with Backhand.

  “Are you done now?” Rayne asked in a low growl.

  The man raised his hand to hit Rayne again.

  “Please stop.” A quiet voice came from beside them.

  Rayne turned to see his sister, Libby, standing next to them with tears in her eyes. Before Rayne could react, his father redirected his swing at Libby and sent her to the ground. Anger burned in Rayne, and he surged forward. He sent a fist straight into Lou’s face, and the man crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

  You have dealt 45 damage to Lou (Level 7) with Jab (Knockdown).

  Rayne stepped over him and checked on Libby.

  “Are you okay?” He asked as he gently reached down to touch her.

  “I’m okay,” She said shakily as he helped her back to her feet.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t find anything today. I promise I’ll find us something tomorrow.” Rayne said dejectedly.

  She reached toward his face and placed her hand on his dwindling bruise from the fight with Damon. The pressure of her hand made him wince.

  “I don’t like you running through the streets. What’s wrong with your face?” She asked him

  “Nothing, a little misunderstanding on the street is all.” He said as he waved away her concern.

  Rayne walked over to check on his mother. She was huddled in a corner and trying to avoid the entire ordeal.

  “Are you okay?”

  She was quietly crying but still nodded her head.

  “Why don’t you go lay down for bed? I wasn’t able to find us anything today, but I promise I will tomorrow.” Rayne told her calmly. She continued to shake as she regained her footing. Rayne held her by the hand and helped her over to the bed. After he had her settled in bed, he returned to his sister.

  “Let’s get to bed. I’ll stay with you tonight to keep you safe. I have to get up early tomorrow to go scour the city.” He told her.

  They both walked around the body of their father and made their way to the room at the end of the house. A few creaks could be heard from the old floor as they passed. Lou had started a steady snore from his bout of unconsciousness. The cool spring breeze that leaked through the thin walls concerned Rayne but there was nothing he could do about it. Rayne made sure his sister was comfortable and tucked her into bed. He laid down next to her, and she snuggled up to him.

  “I hate this place,” she whispered to him as she softly cried.

  “It’ll get better, sis. I’ll take care of you, promise.” Rayne said as he held her and squeezed his eyes shut. I’m not sure how, but I’ll take care of you.

  Chapter 2

  A Mysterious Offer

  Rayne opened his eyes to darkness. It was still early enough in the morning that almost no light was out. It was the best time for him to get to work, though. The interior of the house was quiet, so he made his way to the door and quickly slipped outside. Lou was no longer lying on the floor, and he hadn’t seen his father’s outline anywhere in the house. There was a good bet he had got up to wander around the city. He was usually harmless once he came out of his rage.

  Rayne meandered through the market areas looking for something that he could snatch. The smell of some items freshly cooking kept drawing attention, but they were always from a place he either couldn’t get into, or he wouldn’t steal from. There was no way he would steal from those as out of luck as he was. For the more wealthy places, he had no issue with stealing. They could afford to lose some
of their food without putting too much strain on their families. They were also partly responsible for this mess since they had done nothing to stop the lord’s greed from making this place worse.

  There was speculation that the lords purposely limited goods in cities to avoid anyone from gaining too much experience or leveling up too high in any skills, but he had no way to prove that. His combat from yesterday had added a fair bit of Unarmed experience to him, but Rayne never cared much for keeping track of all of the details. This world would fill you with endless lines of worthless information about every little action or experience gain if you let it. Being able to filter this out to only the bare essentials helped Rayne stay sane. Most people learned to filter their notifications when they were still kids. Otherwise, it could be perpetually distracting.

  His morning had been fruitless as the light started to rise, and he was giving up hope. With the decline in the economy, most people kept a tight lock on their merchant stalls and shops. It was almost impossible to get in and out without notice anymore. He didn’t have much in the way of skills to help him.

  He had about given up hope for the morning when he saw an odd sight that drew his attention. There was a woman that had been skulking in the shadows of one of the shops. Rayne watched as she seemed to disappear. It took a moment, but Rayne could make out the woman’s location after some careful observation. Whoever she was, she appeared to have a shadowy outline around her.

  His interest was piqued since it appeared to be some form of magic she was using. Most ordinary people had no access to magic and it was a jealously guarded skill by the more wealthy of citizens. About the only way to learn it was to pay an insane amount of money to a magical guild to train with their magicians and unlock the skill.

  Rayne watched as the figure rounded the corner and ducked into the shop. There was only so much he could see from the street, but he watched the thief take a few items, from what appeared to be directly in front of the shopkeeper, and then slipped outside. Rayne couldn’t quite figure out what was going on, but he wanted to know more. Following the woman was his best option.