Asgard Awakening 2 Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Also by Blaise Corvin

  Dedication

  Foreword

  VeilVerse Universe

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Book End

  Author's Note

  VeilVerse Universe

  Asgard Awakening 2

  Asgard Awakening, Book Two

  A VeilVerse story

  By Blaise Corvin

  Asgard Awakening 2

  Copyright ©2020 by Blaise Corvin

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Also by Blaise Corvin

  *Note: Some titles are scheduled for launch in 2020 or 2021

  Artifice Universe

  Delvers LLC

  1. Welcome to Ludus

  2. Obligations Incurred

  3. Adventure Capital

  Nora Hazard

  1. Mitigating Risk

  2. Competitive Advantage

  3. Accounts Payable

  Delvers LLC (Cont.)

  4. Golden Handcuffs

  5. Hostile Takeover

  VeilVerse

  Asgard Awakening

  1. Asgard Awakening

  2. Asgard Awakening 2

  Yggdrasil Universe

  Secret of the Old Ones

  1. Luck Stat Strategy

  2. Airship Privateers

  Written with Outspan Foster

  Anthem of Infinity

  1. First Song Book One

  2. First Song Book Two

  For all the folks in the HaremLit community : )

  Foreword

  Hello readers! This book is classified as GameLit and HaremLit.

  You might be curious what GameLit actually is. GameLit, a larger genre umbrella, is any fiction with game mechanics or that takes place in a game. RPG GameLit, or LitRPG is a subgenre of GameLit where stories include some sort of linear progression for characters that is significant to the plot of the story. These types of stories have been extremely popular in Russia and other countries where they are called LitRPG. They’re just now making an impact in the West!

  RPG GameLit is usually a funky mix of Fantasy and Sci Fi. The settings can vary, but what most GameLit novels have in common is a world that most gamers can immediately relate to.

  Asgard Awakening is definitely GameLit, and some would classify it as RPG GameLit/LitRPG as well.

  And again, this series is also Harem Lit, a genre and trope of literature that includes polyamorous relationships with a single lead.

  ***

  This is going to be my first solo book I’ve published in 2020, and I’m kind of terrified about it. This will also be my first book I’ve published since the virus landed. What a year. If you are reading this, I hope 2020 is going well for you, it’s getting better, or you’re reading this from the future, in a flying car, and a 3d printer just made you some delicious food.

  Fantasy has always been wonderful entertainment vehicle for me, and I’m hoping this story will be for you too. I normally write longer forwards, but honestly, I just finished this book about five days ago, I got the edit back yesterday, and I have been up all night formatting and getting the story ready for release.

  I’m exhausted, and I’m excited, hoping readers enjoy Trav’s new story as much or more than the first book. Readers who have read a number of my books know that this section of the foreword is created fresh for each book, and is always written from the heart. I want to thank everyone for giving my books a chance, who enjoy the worlds I create, and who leave reviews.

  Whether you’re buying an ebook, an audio book, a print book, or reading on Kindle Unlimited, you’re helping me pay the bills, and I’m eternally grateful.

  ***

  For everyone who enjoys this book and the VeilVerse in general, you have William D. Arand to thank.

  Will and I go back a ways. We started writing at around the same time, but he beat me to publishing. In fact, I read his books (Otherlife) before I had published anything yet. We have very different styles, and even approach writing itself from different directions, but our friendship has really been based on a mutual love for writing and literature from the get-go.

  A while ago, Will Arand approached me with an idea for a shared universe. As far as I know, nothing like the VeilVerse has been done before, especially by indies. There have been other collaborative universes, like Star Wars EU, Dragonlance, and Michael Anderle’s large library of work. But as far as I know, two authors have never created a new universe from scratch and then proceeded to write /separate/ books in it right off the bat.

  This is an exciting time to be a writer, and I feel honored to have been part of this project.

  The cool thing about the VeilVerse universe is how readers can simultaneously read the adventures of two very different cousins, marooned in two different worlds. Furthermore, other writers may join us in the future with tales of their own veils. As of updating this Foreword, a new author (John Van Stry) has joined the Veilverse with his book, Take Two!

  Please remember to leave a review, even if you only post a few words. Every little bit helps!

  ***

  I really had a lot of fun writing this book. If you’d like to visit my website, the URL is http://blaise-corvin.com/

  I also have a writer’s note in the back of the book with a whole mess of links.

  If you’d like to connect with me on Patreon, the link is http://www.patreon.com/BlaiseCorvin.

  My reader group on FB is at http://www.facebook.com/groups/BlaiseCorvinBooks/.

  I hope you enjoy your time on Asgard with Trav!

  The Veilverse Universe is owned by Blaise Corvin (that’s me!) and William D. Arand.

  Asgard Awakening follows the adventures of Travis Sterling. To read about his cousin Ash, please check out William’s series, Cultivating Chaos!

  Cultivating Chaos

  Another talented author, John Van Stry has written in the Veilverse as well!

  Take Two

  The Veilverse will continue to expand with more great authors and fun stories in the future!

  Chapter 1

  He was no longer a slave, but old habits die hard. Travis Sterling actually felt more comfortable, safer now, while he was enveloped in shadow. Of course, while he’d been a prisoner of the Kin, working in the mines, he’d had no meaningful way to defend himself. Guile had been a fact of life, a way to survive.

  But now Trav was armed with the most potent weapon of all—knowledge. The spear he was using as a walking staff definitely helped to settle his nerves, though. His unnatural eye burned crimson under his patch as he cautiously explored the tunnel that led to the Oracle.

  He’d only had ten days since meeting with Tiffany, bearer of the mantle of the goddess Zorya, and learning about the Oracle in the first place before getting this chance to visit w
ith it. At first he’d been concerned that the radical defenders of the place, the Faithful, would even let him go, but as a “High Master,” the religious Kin treated him much differently than he’d encountered everywhere else so far.

  In Faith, he was respected, even revered. And while another of the Restless had wanted to take his spot, to visit the Oracle instead of him, Trav had been able to put that nuisance to rest quickly.

  The rest of his time up until now had been spent in research and deep thought.

  In town, the Faithful had actually kept a respectable library. Of course, not many residents could read any of the ancient scrolls and texts kept in the very back, but Trav had the advantage of Odin’s knowledge. Remembering anything about the god’s former life was still difficult, but reading new languages was turning out to be a cinch.

  The huge, thick doors of the Oracle’s chamber loomed before him, and Trav stopped to study them, reading the runes. He was still dressed the same as he had been when he’d first come to this area almost two weeks ago, but now with new, more presentable clothing. He had to admit that the rest over the last week in particular had been refreshing, even if his mind had been going to some dark places, and he still wasn’t sure what the hell to do about Tiffany Erben.

  That line of thought would have to wait, though. The goddess would still be in town after he was done here. This task at hand was likely incredibly important, a matter of life or death. He had so many questions about his future, about Asgard, and about himself.

  Now that he was here, he could see the line of runes to open the door, plain as day. His instructions on how to enter the place had actually been slightly incorrect, and he touched one extra rune on the other side of the doorway. The huge slabs of metal swung open silently, and Trav stepped through.

  After that, he traveled through a long, unremarkable tunnel that sloped gently downward until he came to another door. This one had similarly carved runes as the last one, and like before, he touched a slightly different set than he’d been instructed in Faith. The magical circuit to open the door was the same either way, but his method had been more “correct.”

  He moved down one last hallway after this door, this one with an actual floor of tile. The walls were carved, and eventually opened up into a huge chamber. “Well, I’ll be damned,” Trav muttered. He leaned against the rock wall, staring at a statue of a naked woman on the far side of the stony room. Something was nagging at him, demanding caution.

  The scene would not have been so eerie if not for the way the underground cavern was ringed with statues of warriors and mythical beasts, all posed like they were ready to move forward and destroy any trespassers. Somehow, the cavern was also dimly lit without any obvious light source.

  Nobody in Faith, not even Tiffany, had said that there was anything dangerous about visiting the Oracle, but Trav could tell there was more to this place than met the eye. He activated his emberstone eye, then closely observed the flows of magic around him. Trav gasped when he fully realized what he was seeing; every inch, every surface in sight had been covered in rune equations.

  “Wow,” he breathed. This was a major working, something that had taken someone, likely one of the Restless, a great deal of time and resources to create. In ancient times, a few mortal mages might have been able to create something this complex, but only a handful throughout Odin’s very long life.

  As he studied the complex runes, sigils, and glyphs, he ran through his questions for the Oracle. He was still feeling somewhat clever about crafting them. After learning more about how Tiffany had asked her questions, Trav had spent the last few days coming up with how exactly to word what he wanted to know. He’d even come up with multiple contingency plans and extra questions in response to anything the Oracle might say.

  All in all, Trav had memorized around one hundred questions.

  His eyes traced the floor and the walls, running through some of the most important questions. He mumbled, “Since bonding valkyries is not a sustainable way to keep increasing in personal, magical power, what else should I do to most significantly grow in power?

  “A year from now, if I had the ability to go back in time and visit myself, what advice would I give myself?

  “If it is possible to accomplish all of my highest-priority goals, including preserving my life, finding any surviving members of my family, protecting my home world, what travel should I include in my first steps of planning?”

  Trav frowned, thinking about that last one. It was a good question, at least he thought so. As far as he could tell, it was as complex as he could make a question without the Oracle just ignoring him. However, over the last week he’d had to admit that everything he’d done so far after escaping the mines had been to reach this point. He wasn’t really sure what to do next.

  Sure, he still burned to kill Kraachias, and to avenge Beth’s murder, but how? When? And what else was he going to do with himself?

  He’d been feeling unsure of himself over the last week, surrounded by Kin that practically worshipped him. Everything recently had felt surreal, and wrong.

  What did he really want?

  Travis wasn’t stupid. He could see where current events were taking him, but he kept dodging any responsibility, at least trying to. Memories of all the people dying in the mines kept coming back to him, though.

  He just couldn’t figure out how he could justify killing all the Kin on Asgard to free humans, when he’d need to use Kin to do it, and he was even sleeping with a few. Sometimes, he wondered if he’d lost his way somewhere. And this line of thought wasn’t exactly something he could talk about with any of the Kin, not even his friend Jang-mi, and he was pretty sure she was human.

  As his thoughts wandered, Trav continued to examine the magical lines and whorls around the room that all seemed to lead to the statue of the woman. He frowned as something kept poking at the back of his mind, and his senses sharpened as he focused. “What the hell?” he wondered aloud.

  The massive working seemed to be, at least in part, some sort of giant magical communication construct. Some of it appeared to be about gathering and storing power, too, but he didn’t see anything that might explain how the Oracle had been considered so omniscient.

  Trav slowly walked toward the statue, and thankfully nothing happened as he studied it. Whoever had carved it had been incredibly talented. He’d never seen such detail on a statue, even the little hairs on the woman’s arms were visible. Her age was impossible to judge; she looked like the old pictures of celebrities that Trav still remembered from his life on Earth, like they lived in another world, full of glamour and mystery.

  Her hips were wide, breasts large, and she looked like she was ready to leap into dance. The statue’s pose was graceful, and reminded Trav of a ballerina. As he continued to study the figure, he realized that nobody who’d talked to the thing had actually explained how it spoke.

  Suddenly, he jumped as a line of light extended from the ceiling, temporarily blinding his organic eye. His emberstone eye wasn’t affected, though, and actually spotted the magic in the light itself. Trav tried to back up, but he was too late, the light had already shut off.

  Then the statue’s eyes snapped open, glowing blue.

  Trav’s body got chills and a current ran over his skin as something vast and alien touched him. Part of him was shocked, but another part felt some kind of familiarity. The feeling passed almost as quickly as it had come, and the statue’s eyes closed again.

  Tingles ran all over his skin. The buzz of magic in the room was so strong it almost made his teeth rattle. Whatever he was experiencing, there wasn’t much he could do about it so he focused on defenses for his mind and spirit.

  No attack came, though, not even another bright light. The oppressive feeling faded, and the statue of the woman began to glow. Nothing else changed or moved, but Trav suddenly heard a voice in his head.

  “Scan complete. Identity, Travis Sterling, inheritor of Odin’s mantle. Would you like me to
change my speech patterns to more easily communicate?”

  This was definitely not what Trav had been expecting from the Oracle, and he had a feeling that this was not what people normally experienced from it. “Do you mean me any harm?”

  “No.”

  “Then yes.”

  “Understood.”

  The statue’s eyes snapped open again, glowed brightly, and shut. Now the voice in Trav’s mind was easier to understand as it said, “This should be better. You got pretty lucky coming down here when you did, bucko.”

  Trav blinked at that. “Huh?”

  “I’m almost out of power. Anyway, I already know who you are, but you need to open this lock.” The lines of a complex rune equations, blazing red and visible to the naked eye, appeared on the ground. “Finish this, or else.”

  “Or else what?”

  “Or else I blow this whole damned area.”

  Trav frowned and glanced around again at the deeply embedded magic systems around him, looking for specific patterns. His stomach dropped. The statue was not bluffing; this entire cave had been rigged with incredible explosive power, probably on the same scale as an atomic bomb.

  The investment of time and energy to create a working this extensive and powerful was something he would have never imagined. His borrowed memories were also blank on the subject, but he figured that was probably from all the missing holes, since he had a pretty good idea of who had created this trap in the first place.

  Trav stared at the red lines on the ground, and slowly drew Hex, his shiv. The tool seemed eager in his hand, ready to work. With deliberate care, he knelt and thought about how to complete the rune equation, an incredibly complex working for a relatively simple effect. Now that he’d pondered out the purpose of the test, he knew why. This room was a fail-safe.