Book One – Chapter 6

HOW TO STOP this monstrosity, how to overcome a curse that defied all conventional means of confrontation?

Running was not an option. Once merged with the colossal cliff behemoth, the Vicha would have absorbed months’ or even years’ worth of energy. In that time, Yves would lose his eyesight entirely, each passing day rendering him more vulnerable. Regardless of how fast he fled, any pursuit would inevitably end with Yves succumbing to the Vicha in the most desolate state, blind and devoid of magical defense — that is, unless the Northlands’ lurking beasts did not get to him first.

Should he manage to reach the Barnstream villages in the North-East, rulers and adventurers would brand Yves as the harbinger of doom — a threat, a villain, or simply an egomaniac prioritising his survival over others. There was no in-between when people benefitted from your death; you were either good or bad, which meant either too good for your own good or not good enough for them. In this otherwise so complex world that was apparently oh so rich in diverse cultures and philosophies, such a crude dichotomy came surprisingly easy if the need arose; Yves was either virtuous, sacrificing himself for the greater good, or malevolent, an obstacle deserving removal. The grim expectations of noble self-sacrifice loomed over him, and failure to meet them justified any dirty hands reaching for him.

No one would aid Yves, for no one could — neither wizards nor fellow adventurers. The Vicha could not be killed or imprisoned. Yves knew from experience that it proved impervious to magical assaults. All energy hurled at the Vicha either failed to affect it or was absorbed. Attempts to impede its path or to restrain it with physical barriers were futile, as it seeped or broke through them. Traditional weapons proved equally useless against its resilient mass, and direct confrontation risked lethal contact. It seemed invincible, driven relentlessly by the unabated malice that spawned it.

In the vast expanse of knowledge acquired under Emery Thurm and the trials of artifact hunting, Yves had never found a strategy to conquer these extraordinarily potent and brutal curses. Even surviving his first Vicha had left him in the dark. It had been much weaker and slower. Yves had fled and evaded the curse until it faded on its own, dissipating into the void after a mere six days. The search for answers had become his relentless pursuit ever since.