Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3), John Gold [free e books to read online .TXT] 📗

of antlers, and it was both as small as a doe and as large as a warlord. The grass under its hooves shone and grew quickly—even by itself, the deer was a great place of strength. He stood there as if the moon shone on nothing but him.

Changeling, Azami, ???, great natural divinity

The deer said nothing, just releasing delight and gratitude. He liked the tree, he knew the cat helped the animals, he was aware of the other animals buried around the edge of the field, and he certainly knew of justice for all animals and the law of the strongest. He was the greatest, wisest creature LJ had ever met.

You have an offer to be reborn as a natural god

The Keeper of the World’s Forests has weighed your labor and strength, finding you worthy. You can become one of the natural gods of the world, the keeper of this forest and the surrounding lands.

Accept: Yes/No

A god?! Disgust, rage, anger, and pain were the only associations the offer summoned. LJ shook his head, his emotions and the expression on his face saying what he thought of the gods.

The deer removed the offer and tried to sort through what LJ was feeling, watching him closely. LJ liked the tree, though he didn’t want to become a god, and was even disgusted by them. Azami understood and found a different solution.

You have an offer to become Altar Keeper for the Nameless Divinity

Thanks to the contribution you have made to the support and development of nature, you received an offer to become keeper of the altar. The destiny of the nameless divinity is to provide aid to plants and animals.

Your responsibilities: Maintain the integrity of the altar and help everyone who petitions the nameless divinity for assistance.

Your reward: When needed, you can receive divine help in the altar’s area of influence. The stronger the altar, the better the help you will receive.

Accept: Yes/No

The reward revolted LJ, and Azami took it away. LJ was just going to take care of the tree without receiving anything in return. He liked it, he was able to pay for the tree’s shelter and help, and the agreement was just a formality. The poor cat was already doing it without Azami’s offer, after all.

LJ agreed, though Azami didn’t leave. Instead, he continued standing there listing to LJ’s emotions. The silent conversation between the two beings went on for several minutes, both beyond what normal people could understand. Emotions, belief, meaning, precepts, promises, truth, and the evil side that neither of them wanted to think about. Azami sensed and understood everything LJ wanted to express via his emotions. For his part, the cat climbed back up into the tree and laid down in the spot he’d left a few minutes before.

LJ could sense that Azami was reading his emotions and checking to see how sincere he was. The cat had nothing to hide, however, so he just took it in his stride.

Azami’s voice could be heard clearly on the edge of reason. Each word was pronounced with wisdom and strength.

“Prayers are gestures of the heart. In the heart, feelings take form. In the heart, feelings bear fruit.”

Azami disappeared, and LJ no longer felt his presence. What he said, however, had penetrated deep inside.

Achievement received: Divine refusal

You refused to be reborn as a god of your own free will.

Reward: +100 to all attributes

LJ didn’t pay any attention to the achievement, as he’d seen messages like this one before. What Azami had said was ten times more interesting. Even after turning him down, Azami still believed in LJ and what he was doing.

Prayers are gestures of the heart—that was his gratefulness to the tree. In the heart, feelings take form—that was the tree and its growth. In the heart, feelings bear fruit—that was helping the tree in its time of need.

LJ continued to think about what Azami had said as he watched the tavern. He continued thanking the tree for its shelter and aid, not one iota changing in his sincerity.

***

Kasami was an extra-class warrior, one of the thousand best fighters on the continent. But for the second month running, he couldn’t get his hands on what he was looking for.

Once a month, the Darin Empire organized a great tournament, the top ten finalists of which received a unique combat ability. The top three even got a unique weapon. Only three participants were permitted from each city in the empire, and city mayors selected them based on their accomplishments over the previous month.

The first time, Kasami couldn’t get his name on the list for personal reasons. The second time, he couldn’t because some stronger players had appeared and helped the city for the whole month. After that, Kasami took his services to the very edge of the empire. Off in the wilderness, where strong players rarely showed up, there was a barely populated city named Kurg on the edge of the troll lands. Demand for the ore they mined had begun to increase over the previous few months, so the city’s population was starting to grow.

On his very first day in the city, Kasami happened across the battle with the demons near the lone tree. He was the one who organized the defense and was able to fight back the attack using the combined strength of the players. Everyone who participated received a reward, and Kasami got…the second-highest number of reputation points. The top player didn’t show up to the award ceremony. The mayor said he didn’t care about rewards, that he did what he did for his own reasons without asking for anything in return. He had, in fact, earned ten times as many points as Kasami. Despite all the turmoil, everybody who’d been at the defense knew who the hero was—only the nameless keeper of the lone tree had been