Misbegotten Memories

Chapter 35

The morning workout was indeed different. Not in a way Volithur appreciated, either. On his home world, he had been forced to do circuit training a couple of times in gym class. He hadn’t liked it then. He liked it less now.

Everyone started at one of several stations. His was in a series of circles painted on the grass where each held two opponents who had to push each other out of bou...

Chapter 34

Volithur had made a small amount of progress towards level four before the Sergeant returned to collect him. “Another level, Ward Harridan! I’m pleased you took to my advice so ardently. Master Aramar instituted a rule in the fifth household that no commoner lower than level four may receive cultivation resources, so your efforts will be greatly beneficial to your future. Are you ready to g...

Chapter 33

Hector woke to silence. He had not set his alarm for that morning. There was no point when he had no work to attend. Not even a hospital to visit. He didn’t really have anything to do that day. The previous one he had made a photo collage with Jen, called work to let them know he wouldn’t be back, and visited the funeral home to drop off his dad’s favorite suit.

He could always take...

Chapter 32

Volithur barely made it back to the barracks. The next morning, he was beaten again. When Master Aramar asked his son the reason why he had singled out a specific target, the story was told of a Ward demanding an education and a backwards fifth household complying out of ignorance. Master Aramar’s response helped no one.

“One’s choice of enemies says volumes. You choosing the most p...

Chapter 31

Volithur slept through dinner that day and didn’t wake until the wake-up call the next morning. As he devoured the rice porridge with toppings of tiny hard-boiled quail eggs, mushrooms, chives, and hot pepper flakes, the Sergeant called for their attention and announced that the thirty-second son was staying at the fifth household. That man’s son, a grandchild of the Lord General, would be ...

Chapter 30

Volithur woke to the first rays of sunlight. For a moment, his rebooted mind could not process what had happened, why he lay outside in the grass. Feeling so incredibly tired, weak, and empty.

The recollection sat him upright. He had broken through to the next level. Right? Should he be able to tell one way or the other? Volithur felt almost delirious with exhaustion as he wracke...

Chapter 29

Volithur waited almost an hour for the Castellan to emerge from his office, then a snap of the man’s fingers and a gesture to his feet commanded Volithur to heel like a dog. He followed without wasting any effort wasted on feeling slighted, eager to receive the next reward for his impulsive lies.

They went to a nearby room on the ground floor, within which sat a small building. The wall...

Chapter 28

Hector smacked the alarm clock to turn it off and pushed Jasmine to gain a temporary respite from her snuggling. Staring at the dark ceiling of his bedroom, he found himself wondering why he woke so early every day. He could set his alarm for an hour later and it wouldn’t cause any problems. He was leaving his job, after all.

There had been a brief conversation with the chief operating ...

Chapter 27

Volithur ground his teeth during his walk to the palace. As useless as the rock he had received from the Evergreen Institute may be to him, he did not want to surrender his reward. Every precious resource that came to him he earned through hard work and perilous falsehoods. Gifting one of them to someone so much wealthier than him seemed a travesty.

Nevertheless, he had his orders.

...

Chapter 26

Thassily found him quickly, throwing an arm around his shoulder and pushing his own mug of rum into Volithur’s hands. “You’re back, Harridan!”

“What’s going on here?”

“Sergeant…” Thassily swayed, almost fell, and tried to point at the man being paraded around the room on the shoulders of drunk soldiers.

“What about the Sergeant?”

“Level five tod...

Chapter 25

They were led off the stage through its back exit, through tight corridors, down several flights of stairs into a subterranean section lit only by flickering oil lamps. Volithur couldn’t help but think that electric lighting would be incredibly useful in that space. Of course, no self-respecting Xian would ever countenance the use of Jinn technology.

Deep in the bowels of the basement, ...

Chapter 24

Volithur returned to consciousness after about three hours of sleep. Not the wisest strategy to prepare for an academic competition, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop the previous night. He had cultivated. Not the sloppy pass-out-after-a-single-round mental cultivation. Real cultivation. He did it well enough and long enough that he could notice a difference to his soul. He felt on the pr...

Chapter 23

Hector blinked himself awake, clearing away lingering memories of Volithur mentally cultivating for half the night as he turned off his alarm. Before leaving his bed, he brought up his nascent understanding of cosmic energy and cultivated a few rounds. He exchanged energy through his mind five times before quitting, only slightly drained from the exercise.

“Well,” he muttered, “that...

Chapter 22

Volithur didn’t make it back with Jemmi’s wine before another girl accosted him with the demand to dance. He managed to convince his assailant to allow him to deliver the beverage, but a short delay was the best he could do. Jemmi took the glass, glanced meaningfully at the new girl, and said “stop by later if you get a chance”.

He did not get that chance.

The girl who had s...

Chapter 21

Volithur held hands with Hazen and stepped forward and back in time, their hands rising out to each side like they were flapping wings. Khana laughed at the spectacle while the Head Scribe marked time with a steady clap. This was the third practice session of the day and Volithur now knew two dances well enough to only slightly embarrass himself.

He had passed the qualifying examination f...

Chapter 20

Volithur sat across from the Sergeant as he explained the deal he had made.

“A tea powder elixir is more than worth your time. I will clear your absence with the Marshal. I’m certain he will be more than happy to let the Head Scribe fund part of your cultivation cost. The real question is whether you have a chance to win an hour in a cosmic chamber.” The Sergeant shook his head. “...

Chapter 19

Volithur stole glances at Rolanda while the Head Scribe wrote on the chalkboard and prattled on about long division. He didn’t feel like he had made hardly any progress at cultivation since the blood boiling elixir. The soldiers thought Thassily was a genius and had begun giving him more individualized instruction. Meanwhile, the Sergeant’s private lessons became ever more awkward as Volith...

Chapter 18

Hector worked out like a maniac before buying seeds from a lawn and garden store and picking up some fresh produce from a grocery. He was still clenching his jaw and trying not to think about the disrespect he had been shown in his sleep. No, not him, Volithur had been shown disrespect. For over a week of class. And Volithur had accepted his lot in life. Not that there was much else to...

Chapter 17

The vitality that had filled Volithur drained away on the walk to the palace, leaving him exhausted and sore. It seemed his aches had not healed after all. The Sergeant gave him instructions as they approached the tiered pyramid.

“Always show up showered and in a fresh uniform. Don’t be late. Sit in the back of the classroom with the other commoners. Don’t speak unless you are direc...

Chapter 16

The cold water barely sufficed to quench the endless waves of heat radiating from his flesh. For once, Volithur did not miss heated water. He felt as if he might catch on fire. Strangely, the heat did not bother him. Indeed, he felt strong and energetic.

The tapestry of bruises on his body were a pale yellow, as if they had been healing for days already even though many of them had been r...

Chapter 15

When he arrived for breakfast, the Sergeant himself approached Volithur with a vial of blood boiling elixir. “Ward Harridan, the Marshal has provided the elixir for you. It is best taken after a meal.” The Sergeant bowed as he handed over the vial. “It is a blend of powdered black tea leaves, powdered peppermint leaves, juice of lime, and a sliver of ginger – all sourced directly from t...

Chapter 14

Hector woke to the assault of a wet tongue. “No kisses, Jasmine!” The pit bull perked up at hearing her name, looking quite pleased with herself.

A quick check of the time revealed that it was only ten at night. He had only been unconscious for a few hours. Over time, each dream had grown to cover more time from Volithur’s life. The initial experience had covered less than a day in ...

Chapter 13

Volithur limped throughout the dark barracks, trying to ease the pains of his body through movement. His efforts saw mixed results. The steady ache receded somewhat, but more acute discomfort arose in specific muscle groups. His calves protested each step. His abdomen hurt when he tried to straighten his back. His chest, triceps, and shoulders protested anything beyond a narrow range of motion....

Chapter 12

Hector woke to hands shaking him awake. He sat up as the nurse who had performed the checkup on his father earlier leaned over him. She jerked back as he began to move. “You were out cold!”

“Sorry,” Hector said. “I haven’t been sleeping very good lately.”

The nurse nodded. “Easy to understand, with your father’s state. Or is it… dream stuff?”

“Both of t...

Chapter 11

Volithur’s nose crunched under the fist and he fell back onto his rear. His vision cleared just in time to witness Instructor Gordo’s cupped hand make contact with the smirking brawler’s ear. Volithur’s assailant stumbled and fell to his knees. Instructor Gordo executed a rapid kick, slamming the bone of his shin directly into the downed man’s temple.

As the man finished collaps...

Chapter 10

Jerking awake. Hands tangling in sheets as they struggled to protect his face. Alarm blaring. Gasping for air. Confusion. Hector turned off his alarm and collapsed back onto his bed, trying to calm his panic. He had to make himself believe that no one had attacked him. That was Volithur’s life. Though the moment he returned to sleep, he would get to feel the aftermath of that incoming fist. 2024-12-22 13:52:15 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 9

Volithur discovered a deep loathing of the Castellan as he scoured the pipes. The task, it turned out, could not be conducted in a dignified manner. Standing beneath clay pipes as you stabbed at obstructions with a piece of wood proved just as hazardous as it sounded. Hair, ear canals, even nostrils were soon defiled by filth.

They barely finished the job in time for dinner. Volithur show...

Chapter 8

Hector smacked his alarm clock hard enough that he worried he might have damaged it. Petty tyrants pissed him off. The bullying directed at Volithur bothered him on a professional level almost as much as it did on a personal one. The managerial philosophy that guided him at work was that he always made sure he was the hardest worker on the floor and made sure everyone under him was treated fair...

Chapter 7

Volilthur vowed to skip breakfast for the next two weeks. Cleaning out the septic invoked a potent bout of nausea that mixed poorly with a full belly. Given that the stone trench beneath the palace and each of the outbuildings received daily cleaning, there had to be a considerable number of residents. The sheer amount of solid waste boggled the mind.

Shovels and buckets and wheelbarrows ...

Chapter 6

Hector’s eyes stared at the ceiling as his alarm blared in the background. Was it real? Does Volithur really exist? The revelation that the entire world experienced the hyper-realistic dreams would have been a severe enough shock, but then he had heard the Jinn mentioned. Volithur had been told to keep quiet about training to be an electronics technician because the Jinn used el...