Empire of Two: The Dawn of Unity

The sun shone brightly down on the village, casting long, warm shadows as we listened to Linara, the village leader, explain the grim details of the bandit raids.

"So, Ms. Linara, do you know how many of them there are?" I asked, trying to piece together what we were up against.

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she thought. "I'm not sure exactly, but they attack in groups of around 20, give or take."

I nodded, trying to imagine the scale of the problem. "And how many capable fighters do you have?"

Linara sighed, her gaze drifting to the small group of men standing nearby, looking weary and beaten. "We have 30 men, but most are either too old or too weak to fight. I'd say around 10 are capable, but they're all out of shape due to the lack of food."

I frowned, realizing how dire the situation was. "That's a problem," I muttered. "We need to motivate them somehow."

Wiktor spoke up, his tone pragmatic yet firm. "It's more than just motivation. We need to find a way to get them back into fighting condition, even if it's just temporarily. Otherwise, we'll be outnumbered and outclassed."

I spoke. "You could go hunting while I'm not physically capable. You have your newfound magic, after all."

Wiktor gave a rueful smile. "That's true, but I have terrible directional skills. I'd rather not get lost out there. I'd prefer if you came with me. You're much better at navigating than I am."

I thought for a moment. "Hmm, alright. But we need to head out soon. We're lacking food ourselves."

Linara's face darkened as she spoke urgently. "It's very dangerous in the forest. Many of our men died there looking for food. Are you sure that's wise?"

Wiktor's expression didn't waver. "We need to survive one way or the other. If we can get some food for the village while we're at it, that's even better."

We subtly withheld the fact that we had come from the forest ourselves, not wanting to raise any suspicion.

Linara paused for a long moment, as if weighing the risk against the need. Finally, she nodded. "Thank you... kind people. If you're willing to help, we'll be forever grateful."

We walked out of the village leader's home and made our way to the exit.

I said while walking, "Wiktor, you know what's really weird? My stomach does hurt from the lack of food, but it's not as bad as it should be, considering we're used to three meals a day and all."

Wiktor glanced at me, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought. "Yeah, it's strange. Maybe it's the body adjusting, or the adrenaline from all the stress. We've been through a lot, and it's probably masking the hunger for now."

I nodded, but there was a nagging feeling in my gut. "Maybe. But it still feels... off. Like, it should be worse."

Wiktor gave a knowing smile. "Sometimes, the mind tricks us into believing we can't go on when we've actually got more strength than we think. You'd be surprised what you can endure when you keep pushing forward."

"Strength isn't about how much you can bear. It's about how much you refuse to break." Wiktor's words echoed in my mind as we stepped out into the sunlight, ready to face whatever lay ahead.

As we walked through the village and toward the edge of the forest, the familiar scent of the trees and the cool breeze filled the air. The forest loomed ahead, its dense underbrush and towering trees creating an intimidating wall of nature. The silence was unnerving, only broken by the soft crunch of leaves underfoot as we made our way deeper into the woods.

Our journey took longer than I had anticipated, the path difficult to navigate, and the lack of proper food and water taking its toll on my body. But eventually, we reached a clearing, and there it was: a large water source, a river rushing steadily over the rocks, its surface glistening in the sunlight. The area looked peaceful, but I knew better than to be deceived by its calm appearance. There was potential danger here—wild animals, and even bandits, could be lurking nearby.

"We're here," I said, glancing at Wiktor. "Let's try to stay low. We don't want to alert anything big."

Wiktor nodded, his expression focused. "Right. I'll set up some spells to help with tracking the animals. You'll need to be quick when we spot something."

As we moved toward the water, I couldn't shake the feeling that the forest had more secrets than it let on. The wind shifted slightly, and the rustling of leaves seemed to carry an almost ominous undertone. I tried to push the thought away, focusing on our immediate goal—food. It was the only thing that mattered now.

"Let's get to work," Wiktor muttered, his hands glowing faintly as he prepared his magic.

Suddenly, a loud rustle from behind us caught both our attention. A creature burst from the underbrush—a spikeback wild boar, a large, muscular beast with dark brown fur and rows of sharp, bony spines running down its back. Its tusks gleamed dangerously as it charged directly at us, catching Wiktor off guard and throwing him off balance. I instinctively grabbed him and yanked him out of the way, just as the boar's tusks barely missed his chest.

"Wiktor! Get up! This is a fight, concentrate!" I shouted, adrenaline flooding my system.

Without waiting for a response, I dashed forward, moving fast and trying to distract the boar. It was quick, but not as fast as I had hoped. Its large, thick body made it less agile, but the force behind its charge was still terrifying.

I taunted it, drawing its attention completely away from Wiktor. "Come on, ugly! Over here!"

The boar let out a furious grunt, its tusks scraping against the ground as it turned to charge at me. I leaped to the side, narrowly dodging the tusks as they scraped the air. This was no ordinary boar—its aggression was relentless, and its speed was enough to make it a serious threat.

Wiktor quickly regained his footing, his hands glowing faintly as he prepared a spell to control the boar's movements.

His eyes narrowed as he visualized the boar's charge in his mind, not just as a beast charging, but as a mechanical force—a series of predictable movements. He pictured the muscles in its legs, the chemical reactions that fired them into motion, and how, if he just focused his magic, he could manipulate those reactions.

He imagined the moment of impact—the powerful force of the boar's body, its speed—a sudden jolt in its momentum. It was as though the beast's charge had been interrupted, like a spark misfiring inside its body. The magic surged in his hands, pulling on the boar's movements, disrupting its mechanical flow.

His fingers twitched as he visualized the reaction. The boar's legs wobbled slightly, and for a moment, its speed faltered, just enough to make it hesitate.

"Come on..." Wiktor muttered under his breath. The boar's aggression was fierce, but the force he had summoned in his mind was even fiercer.

The boar staggered slightly, its charge slowing, and I took advantage of the opening. "Nice work, Wiktor! Keep it up!"

Wiktor didn't reply immediately, his focus entirely on the boar, still fighting the magical tug-of-war in his mind. "I've got it," he said, his voice low, as the light from his hands flared brighter.

The boar grunted again, but this time its movements were more sluggish, more predictable. With its momentum compromised, it seemed confused, as though something had gone wrong with its body.

"Now, let's finish this," I said, preparing to strike.

While Wiktor held it in place, I smashed its head with all my might with the club we got from the goblin. Wiktor stopped using the magic, and it flopped over, dead.

"We did it. That was the first time I've ever hunted." I said

"Yeah, we could've got killed, though. That was no normal boar." Wiktor stated.

"So now how are we going to carry this back to camp?"

"Wait, I have an idea, let me try something with my magic," Wiktor said.

I watched curiously as Wiktor knelt beside the boar's body, his hands glowing once more. This time, his fingers twitched as though he were weaving an invisible thread through the air. I could see the familiar look of intense concentration on his face, but there was something different about this spell. His magic was more intricate, layered.

He wasn't just manipulating the boar's movements; he was doing something more complex—something that defied simple logic. Wiktor was manipulating space itself.

I watched, slack-jawed, as his magic pulsed in rhythm, creating a visible distortion in the air. The boar's body shimmered briefly before shrinking, folding in on itself.

Wiktor was bending space-time—folding the very space the boar occupied into a compact, pocket-sized subspace. It was like watching reality itself bend and stretch. The boar was still there, but now it existed in a different space altogether, contained and compressed within a magical bubble.

"There. That should hold," Wiktor said, breathing heavily, but looking pleased with himself.

I stared at the space where the boar had once lay. "You just... made it disappear?"

"Not disappear," Wiktor corrected, "I folded it into subspace. It's still there, but it's no longer physically occupying the space around us. It's much easier to carry now."

I couldn't believe my eyes. "That's incredible, Wiktor. How long will it last?"

He shrugged, rubbing his forehead. "I've never done it before, so I'm not sure. But it should hold for a while if I don't push my magic too hard."

"Well, let's hope that holds. We don't need any surprises on the way back." I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

We both stood up, now able to carry the boar with ease—no more back-breaking hauling.

"Since you've got that subspace technique now, think we could hunt a bit more for the village?" I asked, keeping my voice low as we prepared to move. "We could set up camp and chop up some of the boar for food. It'd be good to see if anything starts deteriorating in your subspace—test how stable it really is."

Wiktor gave a small nod, his eyes scanning the area. "We can try. I'd rather not take too many risks, but we need the food."

And with that, we moved on, hoping our strange method of carrying the boar wouldn't backfire.