Unbound

Chapter Three Hundred And Seventy Three – 373

Chapter Three Hundred And Seventy Three – 373

The "Devouring" wasn't as bad as it sounded.

The shaman led their people in an impromptu feastcelebrating his new, curse-free existence. The Yttins cavorted and clicked joyously as they shared their roasting meat and savory flavored dishes with Felix's people. Felix's Eye worked overtime, quickly confirming that none of the meat on offer had ever been a Human or something. It was mostly a creature called a fouval, a sort of long-eared beast that grew the size of a large dog and bred like the rabbits they resembled. The only real difference were the short horns on their foreheads, like tiny, fluffy unicorns.

They tasted delicious.

His people conversed among themselves, spread among the cook-fires and laughing. It was nice to see, especially after earlier that day, but Felix could still see a thread of tension among them all. That tension eased considerably when Harn announced that they were staying the last few hours of the night. They had time to eat and rest up before dawn, when they expected to see more conflict.

Harn and Darius had come to Felix with the suggestion that they stay, and he'd agreed easily. According to Atar, it was unlikely that they would reach Ahkestria before dawn, and even less likely that they'd find a better place to stay the dangerous daylight hours. The skeleton was potent, however, and according to the shaman it kept most monsters away from the area by sheer presence. Zara had claimed it was accumulated significance, baked into the creature's bones, and Felix couldn't argue. Even in death, the beast exuded a solidity that made it unsettling to dwell within, even with his Willpower.

"Will that pose a problem to the troops, then?" Felix had asked.

"No. It's an unconscious effect, anyone with enough Will and Intelligence can get through it." Zara had waved off his concerns while eating a haunch of fouval.

"Dunno if they qualify," Evie had said, nodding at the Legionnaires.

"They'll be fine. Consider it Willpower training."

That had been an hour ago, and things were starting to settle down. Felix assessed the night sky, Pit at his side. The thing was clear as crystal and chock full of stars in great, cloudy swaths. Galaxies, he figured, so similar to how the Milky Way had appeared back on Earth. The moons were close to setting, and Felix judged there was approximately three more hours before the sun began to rise.

Time enough to handle a few things, he thought, scratching the tenku behind his ears. The great lunk had all but tackled Felix when he'd emerged from the skeleton and their bond had reaffirmed itself. Like a kink in a hose, pent up feelings of anxiety, fear, and a familiar bloodlust had slammed into Felix, but he weathered it just as he tanked the full-body slam. He'd been worried too. About Karys as well, though his sword was also responsive again. The fact that either one had been disrupted, let alone both, put him on edge. How do I stop that from happening again?

Felix had some ideas, but he sought out Atar, first. The man was studying the skeleton. A dagger in his hand scraped ineffectually at the material, not so much as scratching its surface.

"Don't think that'll work," Felix said.

"Oh!" The fire mage jumped, startled enough that he fumbled his blade into the sands. "Burning ash! You move entirely too quietly, Felix."

Felix shrugged. "What are you doing?"

Atar straightened his robes, plucking at his shoulders to adjust their drapery. "A material like this would prove excellent for enchanting. I don't doubt the strength of its composition could hold a great array of enchantments." He looked at Felix, eager. "You don't suppose they'd give us some?"

"I mean, I could ask," Felix said. "Might be that they have some broken pieces they aren't too attached to."

"Excellent," Atar said with a grin.

"But I have a question in return. Or a request, I suppose." Felix folded his arms in front of him. "Tell me about the Highest Flame."

"Ah," Atar said, his bright smile withering. "Did Vess or Zara mention it?"

"The shaman, actually. Is this not a secret?" Felix asked. It had felt like a secret, somehow. "It's common knowledge?"

"I wouldn't say common, no. But it isn't a tightly guarded secret either," Atar said, licking his lips. "It is simply not...announced at every street corner. Not everyone has a good view of Urges."

Not hard to figure why, he mused, thinking back on the Urges he'd fought. "I know they're not all like the monsters I fought in the Waterfall Temple. I also don't know enough about Urges to have a good or bad view of them...only that they're strong. That alone makes me nervous."

Atar sighed. "You're not alone in that feeling. But trust me that there is nothing to fear from it. The Council of Masters may be beholden to certain rituals, but the Highest does not hold us even half as tightly as the Raven holds the Henaari."

Felix breathed a little easier. "Well that's good. What sort of rituals?"

"I really cannot say."

"More secrets?" Felix asked.

"Only by necessity. Even I, favored pupil of the greatest Master on the Council, was kept from its inner workings." Atar sheathed his dagger, as if surprised he still held it in his hands. "The Temples of Elemental Flame work with the Council in many ways, and I understand the protections around the city are due to their cooperation. That is truly the extent of my knowledge."

"That's right, you mentioned your Master before." A few hundred times, in fact. "I didn't know he ruled the city. Is this why you insisted on us coming to Ahkestria?"

"I only wished to protect my home from the danger you foresaw. That my former master is on the ruling Council has little bearing on my desires," Atar said. "In fact, I expect it will help us convince the Council of the threat the Paladins represent."

"Still, that's the kind of thing I need to know ahead of time, dude," Felix said, a little annoyed. It felt pretentious, but if he was expected to be leading them, then he needed to know all the details.

"I, damn, you're right." Atar ran a hand through his curls and scratched the back of his head. "I thoughtwell, I assumed that Zara would have told you. She knows who my former Master is."

Felix clenched his jaw. "Really."

"She asked me about it before we left. I thought it only natural she pass that onto you," Atar said with a frown. "Annoying that she didn't."

You're telling me. "Thanks Atar. I appreciate the information."

"Ah, sure."

"Hrm, a decent size," Harn said. He held a shard of bone, two strides long and half that wide. It glimmered, blue-black in the fading moonlight. "Add it to the pile."

"Grrm."

The giant, Geir, grunted as he took the piece from Harn. It looked comically smaller in his hands, and the Risi easily placed it in the growing stack on the wagon.

Harn considered the bone shards before him. After Felix had said something to the shaman, a tide of Yttins had come out bearing these broken slabs. Apparently they were gonna take them, which hadn't been welcome news. They were having trouble enough with the sands and adding more weight to the wagons was a good way to kill the avum teams. Yet once he'd gotten a chance to inspect the material, Harn had eagerly changed his mind.

Damn good structure. Mana lattice is more solid than Tier III metal, I think. He rubbed his chin in thought as he sifted through the pile. Not all the pieces brought out were useful. I think this could make a good weapon, a pike maybe. Legion could use pikes. A line of pikemen was a great defense against larger monsters, especially when they charged. The problem was usually an issue of materials. Wood was typically too weak, even higher Tier materials, and the better metals were too expensive to waste. But this bone...Hmm.

More shards were dropped in the sorting pile, clinking together like metal, and Harn looked up from his thoughts. "Evie. Did you have to drop it right in front of me?"

"You didn't look happy with that selection. So here's a new set," she said. "Those walkin' bandages have piles of the stuff. Couldn't wait to shove it in my arms."

Harn pursed his lips. The pieces she'd brought over were better than the scraps he'd picked over, many of them eight or ten strides long. His Mind whirled, already sketching out ideas for weapons and armor, and he couldn't help the excitement that rose in his breast. It was very different from his battle fury, but very welcome.

"What's goin' on?"

"Hm?" he asked.

Evie crossed her arms and looked him up and down. "You're different. If I didn't know you better, I'd say happy. You roll in the sands with that tavernkeep?"

Harn frowned. "Watch your mouth, kid." He grabbed a piece of bone and handed it off to Geir.

Evie raised her hands in surrender. "Just a question. Don't think I didn't notice those looks you two have been tradin'."

"Nothin' I can do about that," Harn said. "Ain't got time for distractions, now."

"Distractions ain't all bad," Evie said. "Sometimes unwindin' is what the healer ordered."

Harn handed off another bone shard. "And when was the last time you relaxed, kid? Who are you datin', except that chain of yours?"

"Fair point. I'll shut up," Evie said, her mood not dented in the slightest.

The two of them sorted bone shards a while longer without speaking at all. Sort, shift, toss to Geir. Harn let the work engross him, excitement growing with the potential of each new piece. That didn't mean he missed how Evie shied from Geir's closeness, or how she stared daggers at the giant's back whenever she thought Harn wasn't paying attention. It put a damper on his enthusiasm.

Harn cared a great deal for Evie. She was the kid sister he never had, and he'd taken up training her after Magda's death. Cal too, though the now-Lady had bigger issues to worry about. That meant the tough stuff was on Harn's shoulders...but there was only so much he could do for this.

Kid's gotta work her own way through it, he reminded himself. Can't do it for her.

Still, he could give her reasons to trust. The giants hadn't proved too bad, and their discipline was strong. True, that was mostly due to their fear of Felix, but that hardly mattered. They'd given their Oaths. He was more worried the Legion would set fire to their camp before any of the Risi would betray their new Lord.

"Evie, take Geir to get their largest pieces, the ones they might have trouble moving," Harn suggested. To her credit, she'd only glared a moment at the Frost Giant before stalking off. Geir rumbled in confusion, but followed her without complaint.

One step at a time.

Ultimately, Felix decided to leave Zara to her own devices for a little while longer. He had notifications to resolve. So he'd found himself a small chamber inside the skeletal Warren where he could have some privacy, and eagerly brought them up.

Chthonic Tribute is level 84!

Unite the Lost is level 50!

Journeyman Tier!

You Gain:

Reduction of Significance Consumed In Skill Activation

+50 RES

+50 FEL

You Have Gained 1 Level!

You Are Now Level 57!

+20 to STR! +22 to PER! +22 to VIT! +26 to END! +24 to INT! +28 to WIL! +26 to AGL! +29 to DEX!

+20 All Harmonic Stats!

You Have 15 Unused Stat Points!

System energy flooded Felix's core, rebounding back out into his Skills in a blaze of red-gold and blue-white light. It was painful, as always, but manageable. The boosts to his stats were insane, but then again it was his first level in nearly two months. Even with his new Path, was it enough to go toe-to-toe with a Primordial? He'd fought the Maw, and then the Ravager King, but both had been weakened or limited.

"...it is the desert itself."

The shaman's words echoed back at Felix, just as unnerving as it had been the first time. Who could fight an entire desert? How would he even begin? He growled in frustration.

"Okay. Training, then." Felix said. Pit chirruped in excitement from within his Spirit. His Companion had refused to be separated again, so once Felix indicated he was entering the Warren he'd hitched a ride. He found their bond unaffected this time around. The why of it was a mystery, as he still felt that distinct pressure from the blackened bones all around him. In fact, that was part of why he was sitting inside of the Warren again, as he'd planned to practice his Voracious Eye and push it to Tier.

Voracious Eye!

Voracious Eye Failed.

The skeleton refused to be analyzed. It didn't push back so much as simply refused to be moved at all. Felix licked his lips. He considered this a sort of resistance training for his Skill, but he vividly recalled the pain he'd felt further below when he'd pushed too hard. Now though he felt sturdier than ever. A new level and stats, an infusion of Essence and significance, all of which should anchor him against the pain.

So he pressed forward again.

Voracious Eye!

Voracious Eye Failed.

Jagged pain stabbed at his eyes and snaked among his core, but it was only pain. He'd dealt with worse.

Voracious Eye!

Absorbing the flesh curse from the mutated shaman had awarded him a sizable increase in significance. It had even given him more than he'd spent on Unite the Lost, the very action that turned the shaman back to his natural form.

Voracious Eye Failed.

Felix's nostrils flared. All in all, there was an odd balance to his Unite the Lost. He could use it frivolously, he knew, but it was like the actions he had taken so far were...approved, somehow. The System rewarded him for turning back the flesh curse, for curing the Archon's twisted creations, for saving that chorister back in the Nest months ago. That indicated it wanted him to continue to do so, at least if it had any sort of intelligence behind it. Felix still wasn't sure on that. It had spoken to him, but was that a mind? Or just clever, magical programming?

At a certain point, was there even a distinction between the two?

Guess that depends on whether the System is making plans or not. He frowned, idly crushing a sandstone rock in his hands. I don't want to be under the gods' thumbs, but do I avoid doing the System's bidding? Would I want to?

So far Quests given to him had only been for the better, except those that were clearly tampered with by the Maw or the gods. He couldn't go around questioning every single decision he made forever, though. Felix decided to let it ride, at least for now. He had a goals of his own, and if the System helped him in that? Excellent.

Voracious Eye!

Voracious Eye Failed.

Voracious Eye!

Voracious Eye Failed.

Voracious Eye!

Voracious Eye Failed.

It was like beating his head against a wall, but each time he felt the skeleton's resistance bend just a little more. Maybe that was all in Felix's imagination, but it fed his resolve. He wasn't leaving that room until he'd Tempered his Mind. Felix tried a different tack.

He dove into his core space.

It had once resembled a solar systemif a poorly scaled version. But now it was...well, strange was one way to put it. His Skills still revolved around the center in large, elliptical orbits. The highest leveled Skills were nearest the center and shining bright, while those that lagged behind were further out and dimmer. Their rotations and revolutions provided the constant, steady song that threaded through him, loud as evera strange intermingling of tones and chords, all working to project a delicate Harmony.

Atop that, however, was a rival Dissonance. At the center, where typically there was a single core, Felix had two. They were formed as rings of liquid flame, the bottom a blue-white hue and the top a red-gold, stacked atop one another like a pair of wedding rings, and rotating in opposing directions. His [Thunderflame Core] and his [Cardinal Beast Core]. Where their surfaces ground against one another, lightning and flame burst and danced, generating that atonal Dissonance. It competed with the Harmony, but not nearly as much as it once hadFelix had reached a point where the two sounds had melded together into a single, rousing sound. For the most part. Peaks of wild Harmony and valleys of burring Dissonance still crept through, each one a tremor that spiked through his core space.

Below the rings and spinning Skills were pillars, two of them now, that were the beginnings of his Weaving Stage. What they did Felix was a bit unclear on, but Karys assured him it was the next step in advancing his power. He ignored those for now. Felix knew he couldn't form another pillar until he'd reached Adept anyway, or else he'd risk weakening his foundation.

And all of that would have been fine, if a bit weird. Except, where Felix should have been able to see through the two cores atop another anotherright through the center and down to the pillarsinstead he could see only a thick, pervading darkness. A hungry abyss, responsible for eating up the nastier portions of the creatures he devoured. It was sleepy and lethargic right now, as the shaman's curse had been quite the meal, and Felix was just glad he didn't have to contend with the thing.

And that brings us to the Tree.

Divine Tree, actually, though Felix didn't know if that was its name. It stuck up through the center of his cores, ignoring the dark abyss as if it weren't there, connecting his pillars to the upper reaches of his core space. There it branched out, just as a tree might, it's bare branches clothed not in leaves but in thick, shimmering Essence and motes of resplendent light. A nebula, trapped above his solar system, glimmering in the endless dark.

God, I can't believe this is all inside of me, he thought, not for the first time. It wasn't really inside his body, that much Felix had ascertained, but was instead some sort of metaphysical other space that people could access. It related in some fashion to his Aspects, but Zara had not been able to explain it to his satisfaction. It felt like it was inside him, especially when his Voracious Eye spasmed against the restrictions of the skeletal Warren, like a sharp stomach cramp mixed with an ocular migraine.

Focus.

His Voracious Eye swirled down among the Skills nearest his cores, bright and shining with two Tempers behind it. The pattern of it was convoluted and confusing, much as any of them were, and it thrummed each time he activated the Skill.

Voracious Eye!

Voracious Eye Failed.

Felix frowned and narrowed his Intent. His Affinity sounded the pattern of his Voracious Eye, and his Intent shaped its power while his Willpower carried the Mana through his channels. It was like doing brain surgery with someone else's arms from across town, unwieldy and awkward. Yet Mana surged regardless, flaring up into his eyes and out into the world.

Voracious Eye!

The skeleton fought back, no longer passive, and that migraine turned to a stabbing, tortuous agony. Felix didn't relent. He was stronger now. I can do this!

Voracious Eye!

Affinity, Intent, and Willpower all converged atop his Skill, forcing it to new heights. His Eye tore into the skeleton's resistance, shredding it piece by piece until it vanished, all at once.

Name: Leviathan Bone

Type: Material

Lore: This is part of a once mighty creature's Body, an apex predator that rules the deeps of the Endless Sea. Leviathans are rarely seen, not because they are few in number, but because there are rarely any survivors. Leviathan Bone is a highly advanced material that is stronger than orichalcum and more dense than adamant. Due to the nature of its demise, this Leviathan Bone contains a portion of the significance it had in life, increasing its durability and value.

Voracious Eye is level 75!

...

Voracious Eye is level 79!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+100 PER

+50 AFI

+...

Legendary Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence of Earthen Panoply]

Felix immediately felt the Essence that sang the most to his Skill, and plucked it straight from the branches of his Divine Tree. The mote of light careened downward until it splashed with a burst of resplendent light against his [Cardinal Beast Core], and the choices cascaded across his vision.

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Adept Tier Bonus Added!

Calculating Effects...

Choose A Feature:

Armor - Fortified Monolith

Arms - Brandished Obelisk

Skyclad - Forsaken Foundation

Felix was beyond questioning why this Essence called to his Skill the most, but he was surprised to realize that it had originated from the Atlantes Anima. His Spirit Tree had given him a few Essence Motes, likely during its tumultuous birth. Above all else, that meant he had less to worry about with regards to its consequences. Compared to the Urges and Archon, his Spirit Tree was basically benevolent.

He decided to trust his instincts. Voracious Eye, though it was twisted by the Maw all those months ago in the Void, was about gathering information. Knowledge was power, and Felix needed his Skill to retain its edge so that resistance like this Leviathan couldn't impede him in the future. It was a tool of his Mind, and with he he would seize that which threatens him and his people, and shatter it. Armor sang to him, while Skyclad did not, but neither so much as Arms. The Brandished Obelisk was a tent pole, a stele reaching toward the heavens...but it was also a spear.

He chose.

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Arms]!

The power sank into him, bursting across his cores in a wash of red-gold radiance. His [Thunderflame Core] responded, crackling back, but it was the [Cardinal Beast Core] that raged the most. Pain swept out and into his core space, striking the pattern of Voracious Eye with a ribbon of iridescent power.

3 of 3 Mind Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

Everything went white.