Unbound

Chapter Four Hundred And Thirty Four – 434

Chapter Four Hundred And Thirty Four – 434

Felix leaned back, and his spine popped like bubble wrap. "Ouugh god, that's better!"

"I am unsure if that noise should come from a living body," Karys observed between bites. "Perhaps next time you lift an entire Manaship on your back, you take time to stretch first."

They were sitting atop a glossy wall within Felix's Bastion of Willa mental Skill within his core spaceand his Chancellor was busy eating a small pile of greens that he called caeliis and insisted were delicious. Felix had tried them and thought they tasted like spicy cardboard, but kept eating them regardless. The sky was blue here, instead of gray and stormy, and the air danced with warmth and the fragrances of springtime. "Two things: it was like, barely half of a Manaship. And also this isn't my real Body anyway, so I'm sure that was just my Mind's projection of my own stress. Or something."

Karys laughed, and his older Nymean face creased in a wide smileso similar to a Human's, save for perhaps slightly wider eyes and sharper features. "The Body you project into your core space is you, just simplified into an incarnation to interact with your Skills and core. Or cores, in your case. It is a reflection of your Aspects, cast and refracted through the glittering pool of your own power. As above, so below." Karys popped another leafy stalk in his mouth and chewed, sighing through his nose.

Felix waved off the man's concerns. "I'm fine. Adamant Discord did most of the heavy lifting, and my Body is a lot more resilient now since Adept Tier came through. Like scary resilient. Those Hatchlings couldn't put a scratch on me, and the Paladins..." He trailed off, thoughts back on the Manaship earlier that day. Of the storm and the fire, and the end he had enacted. "They didn't stand a chance."

He pushed his Mind away from those memories. He did what was necessary, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Felix focused instead on a notification that had been lingering around his vision for a while now, but in all the hubbub of ships and fish monsters and the clean up, he hadn't given it any attention.

New Skill!

Auroral Forge (Epic), Level 1!

The sun dawns and sets, but light is ever present...and it is yours to forge. Precision, strength, and speed of manipulation increases slightly with Skill level.

The new Skill blossomed within his core space, a palpable feeling of warmth and light suddenly glowing in the distance. It was an orb of interlocking patterns as the rest, but further away from his cores than any other Skill, being at level one. It was fairly large in size though, bigger by far than the Sunken Ward Skill near it, owing perhaps due to its rarity.

"Hm."

"What is it?" Karys asked.

"Killing and devouring the Paladins earned me a new Skill. A light shaping Skill." Felix lifted his hands and let the ability activate. Golden wisps of Mana flowed from his hands in amorphous, smoky blobs. "This must be what they used to make their light constructs."

"Another shaping Skill for your repertoire. You have quite the collection," Karys observed. "Have you considered combining them, or perhaps joining them together in a Skill Array?"

Felix had, just then, but even with a quick assessment using his Affinity he was certain. Something was still missing. "It's not ready yet. Just like before, when I got all the other shaping Skills, the pattern feels incomplete." He had previously learned a number of shaping Skills, all of which were immensely useful not just for their power but their utility as well. Stone Shaping, Rime Shaping, Green Shaping, and now Auroral Forge. Add in Cardinal Flame, which aided in controlling internal and external Mana and, to a lesser extent fire, and he had quite the assortment. Even Sovereign of Flesh was a shaping Skill, of a sort. "My only idea is to keep learning new Skills to hopefully combine them in the future. For now, maybe this Auroral Forge will be useful."

He flexed his powerful Will and fed the Skill a measure of his Intent, focusing on the shape he wanted. The amorphous glob of light straightened, flattening out at the end to form a long, thin spear. He felt the Skill quiver, trying to keep up with the force of his stats as it sang in a curious series of high chords.

Auroral Forge is level 2!

Auroral Forge is level 3!

Auroral Forge is level 4!

Each level up allowed Felix to pack just a bit more Mana into the spear, solidifying it a bit more. He flared his Manasight and Cardinal Flame just to watch the process as it evolved. There was a spellform, created by the resonance of his new Skill and fed by his vast store of Mana. Each level up increased the complexity of the spellform, the pattern, and allowed more power to be added to the weapon. Eventually, it looked like a golden bar of light in his hands, shining almost too bright to look at directly.

Auroral Forge is level 15!

Manasight is level 72!

"Huh. I've never seen this much detail before." Felix held out the spear, now a weighted, tangible object in his hands. Not much weight, especially in his hands, but it had a heft to it that matched a standard polearm. "Is this how Skills have always worked?"

Karys nodded. "You have simply lacked the senses to parse it. Congratulations. A new realm of power has opened for you, Felix. With increased proficiency in shaping magics, you will find that your efforts at creation will only grow more complex and refined." He patted the glossy battlements beneath them with a dark brown hand. "Perhaps increase the rank of your Stronghold again, if we incorporate your new Skill."

Felix gazed at the walls of his Bastion, currently underfoot. They were made of stone polished to an impossible shine, blue-black threaded with glimmering red-gold veins, much like his Stronghold in Nagast. The walls spread outward, forming a hexagon that was easily the size of the grandmaster's estate in Ahkestria. It was, however, mostly empty. The middle portions, the inner bailey, was a field of lush green grass and wildflowers. He had even noticed some woody shoots rising in places, shoots that looked like they would soon become trees. At the center of it all was a large, hexagonal tower that rose twice as high as the walls, and was surmounted with a large silver spire that was threaded through with a dizzying array of shimmering cords. Like a needle, stuffed to bursting with enough yarn to gag a hobby shop.

He let his gaze skip over those threads. They were an entirely different can of worms he had to deal with later.

Each face of the hexagonal tower was marked with the convoluted pattern of a Skill, each one different and all of them tied to his Bastion of Will by a process that Felix still didn't really understand. This was what Karys meant when he said Skill Array: a network of Skills woven together in Harmony to effect a greater potency. And his Skills were plenty potent already. By manually activating multiple shaping Skills, Felix had crafted the new walls of his Bastion from scratch, somehow improving the Skill itself...if he could manage to combine all shaping Skills into an Array, what else could he create?

"It's tempting, but my Affinity keeps flagging strange dead notes when I consider the Skills together. My gut says wait." Felix pivoted, letting the spear of light dissipate and discarding thoughts of his Skills and their growth. For now. "Tell me about the Stronghold. What's new?"

"Ah." Karys dusted off his hands and stood. At his feet, the bowl of greens vanished into the air. "To business then."

The air before them distorted, blocking out the view of distant forests, rolling hills, and the spray of an acid-green sea. A blue box, edged in golden scrollwork filled the space, large enough to count as a billboard sign back home. His Authority Screen.

Karys reached up and scrolled, flicking past several options. "I had intended to share these with you sooner, but your distance from Nagast means your Authority Screen will not populate properly. Thankfully that is not an issue within your Bastionhad you the time, we could have done this sooner."

"I would have done lots of things, if I had time," Felix said, a touch irritated. "Issues continue to pile up. Ahkestria needs to be sorted out, this attack on Nagast has to be mitigated, and now these Fathom creatures. Not to mention all of the problems in my own party. The Link I established with them is doing...things to their core spaces. I could hear it on Vesshell, anyone could see it on Atar's face."

"Well, to your second point, I have reached out to Lady Cal and she is not aware of any incursion into the Territory. Luckily one of the Manaships Lady Zara acquired was just leaving to the border when I reached her; she sent a missive with a few of her Haarguard and expects word from Setoria within the week. Faster if they catch favorable winds."

Felix quirked an eyebrow. "When did you call Cal? I just told you like an hour ago."

"I was once a Paragon, Felix. Though I no longer hold the power I once had, there is a great deal of skill still in these old bones."

"You don't have bones," Felix pointed out, but winced a moment later.

"Not strictly true. While I may no longer look as I did in life, the mechanical Body you gave me has a skeleton." Karys folded his robes a bit closer around his false, old form. A phantom of who he was now hovered around his shoulders: a golden giant made of metal and magic, with two eyes of burning flame. Then it faded, and there was only the tired old man. "I am...reduced, but it is better than my Eidolon Body, frozen in place by rot and the passing Ages. And it is beside the point. My Mind and Spirit are my own, and holes in my memory or not, I can still accomplish great things."

"I don't doubt it, Karys. I'm sorry. That was just rude," Felix said, scratching his jaw. Here, at least, his hands were human and without claws. "Please. Continue."

"Very well," Karys said, and returned his attention to the Authority Screen. "Your Stronghold has grown with the arrival of settlers from Haarwatch and Setoria coming in relative droves. The housing has spilled out of the original walls and into the forest beyond, which we have had to clear quite a bit ofbut don't worry! Kikri, that Elven archer follower of yours, she and a number of Elven arrivals were able to shape the forests back, without harming a single leaf. The song of it," Karys closed his eyes, and a smile returned to his face. "It was beautiful. The Green Aria is not something I have heard since often since my awakening."

Felix absorbed the information Karys was relaying at the same time he went over the general details for his Territory. One of my Territories, he thought with no little disbelief. It's...changed so much.

Authority Screen

Territory

• General Overview

• Current Residence: Nagast

• Residence Rank: Stronghold, Rank II

• Allied Population: 2,489 Henaari, 59 Risi (Frost Giants), 44 Hoarhounds, 3 Chimera, 437 Humans, 113 Half-Orcs, 64 Elves, 37 Dwarves, 14 Gnomes, 115 Hobgoblins, 233 Goblins, 16 Korvaa, 44 Orc, 5 Half-Elves

• Factions

• The Risi

• The Henaari (Night Talons Tribe)

• Affiliated: Wallwalkers

• The Henaari (Skyborn Tribe)

• The Henaari (Featherwalk Tribe)

• The Henaari (Thundercry Tribe)

• Nagast (New) (Varied)

• Fiend's Legion

• Arclight

• Blade

• Bone

• Fist

"Whoa, that's a lot of new people," Felix said, alarm creeping into his voice. "Do we have enough resources for everyone? Food? Shelter?"

"We do. More than enough. When the second Henaari tribe began arriving, the Night Talons put themselves into high gear. The Farwalker wished to stay in our good graces, and he offered to establish an official organization for his builders. He calls them the Wallwalkers, because of course he does, and they have been working night and day to help design and build additions to your growing town. The Green Singers joined with them, using their gifts in tandem and truly cutting down on the time required to erect reasonable housing." Karys sighed, obviously pleased. "This, of course, meant that the Night Talons Tribe remains the dominant tribe among the newer Henaari arrivals."

"But where did all the Henaari come from?" Felix asked. "The rest you explained, and even that I can't quite believe, but the Henaari are wanderers. Why would they come to the Foglands?"

Before Karys could answer, a tingle shuddered through Felix's spine. Above them, one of the many cords of effervescent light twanged, plucked hard as if by a massive, curved claw. It was a dark cord, edged in shadow as much as light, and the moment Felix's attention fixed upon it the sound of faint, sharp cawing reached his ears. The Endless Raven.

"I believe you have your answer. The Urge the Henaari worship must have sent word to its people. What precisely that word was, not even the Farwalker has deigned to reveal. And I've asked." Karys pursed his lips, not angry so much as thoughtful. "It is not malicious, of that I am certain. I trust the Farwalker and his inner coterie. The other tribes...ah well, they have not posed any sort of threat and have also rushed to prove themselves useful. I have taken the liberty of engaging their Skills to continue responsibly harvesting the forests and valleys beyond our own, and for the more martial minded to delve into the Steelgrave Domain with the Frost Giants. It has progressed well. Our stores of raw ore and varied reagents for alchemy have grown by the bushel."

"Wow," Felix breathed. He was impressed. "You've really got a handle on things."

Karys fixed his robes, picking imaginary pieces of lint from his chest. "I appreciate the acknowledgment, Felix. Were that our crafting were going so well. Without our Masters, even with the interim replacements, the Stronghold cannot progress as quickly as it might. It would be nice to reach Tier III before anything untoward happens with the Hierocracy. When do you think you shall return?"

Felix sighed. "Not soon enough. If only I could simply pick a chancellor for the Territory and leave. But you know the deal there."

"Mhm, indeed. Do you have a candidate?"

"Not sure. I have to do some poking around here, ascertain a few details, but I'll hopefully have it wrapped up quickly." Here Felix hesitated, and gazed up at the threads in the sky again. He could pick out six that stood apart and were bunched together, far more sturdy than the vast majority of others, and almost sizzling with unexpressed intensity. "But...I'm worried about my friends, too. Will you look more into the Links, like I asked?"

"Of course. I will scour my memories, but as I told you before, the substance of your power confounds me. Your Primordial nature influences your core space in strange and increasingly complex ways. Links, such as you are describing them, are not a part of the standard advancement." Karys tapped his lips and swiped close the Authority Screen before them. The view of dark forest and distant, crashing waves was stark without the translucent blue window in the way. "The Fathom. These are the creatures the Naga asked you to eliminate?"

"Yeah. Same name at least. Can't believe that's a coincidence," Felix said.

"Hm. And they were draconic creatures?"

"That was their Type, yeah. Looked more like gross fish monsters. Like those things you find at the bottom of the ocean, all slimy bits, teeth, and big pale eyes." Felix's lip curled, recalling their defeat...yet the image of them swirling around him in the dark water was haunting. "I'm not a fan."

"Nor should you be. Draconic Type creatures are dangerous, not just because of their growth potential, but because the lesser ones do not often work alone. They are rigid in their hierarchy, and will bow to those of their Type possessed of a greater advancement."

"Oh shit," Felix said, softly. "Are you saying the Fathom are dragons?"

"I do not know." Karys shook his head. "I am saying that you need to tread carefully when you finally return to the shadowgate in Haestus, Felix. There may be more danger there than you realize."