Unbound

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty Nine – 329

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty Nine – 329

"My first order of business should be more reliable stairs, I think," Felix mused. Even abstaining from Adamant Discord, his own Strength, Dexterity, and Agility let him leap up through the holes in the Temple with relative ease. Vess was right behind him, landing with no less grace despite her lesser stats; no doubt due to her high level Grace and Born Trait that let her leap extraordinarily high.

"Personally, I like the express path," Vess said with a grin that dimpled her cheek. "Trudging up stairs, even at high speeds, grows tiresome."

"I'll keep that in mind," Felix said. He tapped his lips, thinking on the power at his fingertips. Questions boiled up and over in his Mind, too many to count. He focused on only a few while they ascended the levels toward the outside. Toward this...judgement, he was to perform.

Felix frowned. A'zek had gone on ahead, intending to inform the Farwalker of the "Autarch's approach." He had leaped upward at an impressive pace, but not fast enough that Felix's eyes couldn't track him. Yet he still vanished from his Perception, even that extra awareness his Authority afforded him. Likely a Blessing from the Raven. The Urge's power is better than my own by a long shot.

That fact made him a little uncomfortable. He had invoked the Raven during his fight against the Urges imprisoned in the Mana wellan action that had no doubt strengthened the Urge of Findings In The Dark but one that was necessary to weaken and dazzle the far more vile Urges he had faced. It had helped Felix beat the dangerous monstrosities, but the Raven's motives felt inscrutable. It loved shiny things, new things, old things that folks lost or buried, but what did it want with it all? Was there a plan to the avarice he'd glimpsed in those huge, black eyes?

"What is a Residential sequence?" Felix asked, pushing his Mind away from the issue. "The Dwelling Stone was imbued with it, according to its Lore." The terminology sounded like it was some sort of packaged code, waiting for use. But everything Felix knew about coding was from movies, which typically showed a person flailing on a keyboard while lights flashed on the screen. Small terms and words flitted by his Keen Mind, enough to convince him that he didn't have the understanding to properly convey what he meant, so he changed tack. "Is it like a...pre-built array in the crystal?"

"Of a sort, I" Karys said from Felix's waist. The sword puffed a heaving sigh of green-gold vapor. His Body was still below, investigating more of the array in the hopes that it might trigger old memories. "No details come to Mind, and I do not know if that is because I do not know them, or there are more holes in my memory. Suffice it to say, the Belais Crystal held a pattern that the System extrapolated into your Seat and Seal, and thus into your Stronghold."

"Mhm," Felix said. That much had been obvious. He'd grown used to the specific weirdness of the System and its vibrational underpinnings. Skills were patterns of sound and light, why not a whole Forge too? "So it's a Stronghold, then. Where are my big walls and towers?"

Vess laughed.

"I would suggest you continue to explore your Authority," Karys said.

"Do you mind sharing while we move?" Vess asked. She looked at him with a touch of hesitation, but ploughed on through her next sentence. "I would very much like to see how your Stronghold functions."

"I don't mind at all," Felix said as he brought up his new menus and flicked them in Vess' direction. A copy of what he was viewing rotating into her view, visible to his sight as well.

The Song of Stronghold

Stronghold Defensive Strength: 20%

Stronghold Offensive Strength: 5%

Chancellor: None Selected

Master of Glyph: None Selected

Master of Forge: None Selected

Master of Treasury: None Selected

Master of Alchemy: None Selected

Two other tabs lined the side, Map and Improvements, but before he could investigate them, a secondary box popped into view.

You Have Established A Stronghold!

Do You Wish To Name It At This Time?

Ugh, I'm bad at names, Felix groaned. No. The box vanished, but not for good he feared. What do I name a half broken Temple and some forest?

He moved on. Under Improvements were subsections for Fortifications, Living Spaces, Professional Spaces, Garden, and, surprisingly, Spirit Tree. When he selected it, he got a warning message.

Spirit Tree Is Still Attuning To Its Surroundings

Do Not Attempt To Harvest Until Attunement Is Complete.

Okay, leaving that alone then.

"Stronghold Defensive and Offensive Strength are both pretty low," Felix said. "I'm guessing that's based on the general...disarray, huh?"

"Precisely," Karys buzzed from the hooked sword. "It counts only the condition of the Stronghold itself, not the people that may or may not defend it. It does not, for instance, factor you into either calculation."

"If you build defensive structures and construct weaponry at your Forge, then those percentages should rise," Vess said. "My family's castle has quite a few such structures and is well defended against outside attack."

"Do you know how to make those things?" Felix asked.

"...Not as such, no," Vess admitted, a tad sheepishly. "My education was always on governance, diplomacy, and combat. The Path of the Ruler, Father calls it."

Path, eh? Felix thought. Interesting. "Well, I've got a few other tabs here under Stronghold. Improvements. Oh, cool. Yeah. Fortifications and Offensive Weaponry have their own sub sections." Felix shook his head. "This Authority thing gets really granular on some of this stuff, huh?"

"It can. Your Authority menus are definitely different than the ones I have seen, and that should only increase your options." Vess easily leaped to the next level, Felix following effortlessly. "Have you selected a Chancellor yet?"

"No, not really sure what that is," Felix admitted.

"A representative, to act in your absence. So you would want to choose someone that will stay here, generally speaking, and who you trust." Vess grimaced. "A challenging selection at the best of times."

They reached the top of the cliff, slipping through a rent in the roof of the Templea hole the Atlantes Anima had created when it grew, diverting an entire river and splitting the clifftop in two. The river had at first poured down into his Temple, but Felix had done a little Stone Shaping to divert it to the west, so that it cascaded down a separate part of the clifftop. It was a temporary solution, but at least his new home wasn't going to flood anytime soon. The dark brown trunk of his Spirit Tree stretched high above them, and in his Manasight it pulsed with every color of the rainbowand a few more besides. Leaves, far, far above them hung fat and green and glossy in the mid-morning sunlight. What little of it could penetrate the thick canopy, that is.

"And the other positions I see? Master of Glyphs and stuff?" Felix asked Vess and Karys, the two of them walking to the edge. "What's that about?"

"A Master of one of your Crafting Halls is responsible for the production within said Hall and lends their own level of mastery toward completed works. So it behooves a Forge to have a high ranking Smith as the Forgemaster, you see," Karys said.

"Alright, makes sense," Felix said. "Not exactly a going concern yet, though. I don't even have the place set up."

"Felix...do you truly wish to do this?"

Felix stopped, feet from the edge, and glanced back at Vess. She was looking up at the Spirit Tree, brows down, worry and wonder flitting across her Spirit. Felix clamped down his Affinity again, dulling his sense of her. "Do what?"

"The Authority. Establishing yourself as a power upon the Continent." Vess shifted her gaze, and Felix could only see worry in her dark brown eyes. "You have grown powerful, I cannot deny that. But this is beyond the physical strength of one person. When people find out...when the Hierocracy finds out"

"When Felix took the Authority upon himself, he was announced to all the world," Karys said. Felix felt a flash of icy dread in his gut.

"Why would it do that?" Vess asked, outraged.

"It is as it always was," Karys said, confused. "It may invite challenge, but"

"It will do more than that!" Vess ran her fingers through her hair. Strands already hung loose from the braids she had plaited earlier. "You took over a portion of the Hierocracy. They will not take that without challenging you...and that means war at yourourdoorstep."

There it was, the threat he'd been feeling. Still unformed, but looming over him like a dark cloud. Felix licked his lips and took a breath. "I enacted a defensive array in order to help Zara and stop the Inquisition from reaching out. Will that prevent everyone from coming into my Territory, Karys?"

"It will. How long depends on how fast they can muster the power sufficient to overcome its defenses. As it stands, your Mirk Enclosure has not been breached, though...thousands have tried." Karys was quiet a moment, almost as if he were reading something. The pause lingered.

"Karys?"

"It...it is not important yet. I shall tell you after your meeting. The Enclosure will hold even against Master Tiers."

"And Grandmasters? Paragons?" Felix asked.

"A true Paragon would walk through it as if it did not exist. A Grandmaster could break it, however, given enough time."

That made his decision for him. "Then we prepare as best we can, and we need to send word to Cal in Haarwatch. They'd face any enemies far before we would. Is there a way to do that?"

"There once was. You must advance your Stronghold to Rank II however before communication between locations becomes viable," Karys said.

"Then that's the focus for now. Improve the Stronghold, and," he took a deep, steadying breath again. "And prepare for war. Fuck me."

He looked over the ledge, at the stone dwellings far below. A group sat near the water's edge, as far away from the Risi as they could manage. No houses stood, though a few fabric tents had been set up, and what he knew to be two hundred and forty-five Henaari gathered in a loose semi-circle.

"First, we deal with them," he said.

He stepped off the ledge.

Felix took in his target as he fell. The Henaari semi-circle was mostly comprised of non-combatants. Men and women too old to fight or too valuable as crafters or some other arcane profession, along with a bevy of children. At the fore were a gathering of women, all robed the same and wearing a broach atop their well-made garb, and a single man in the fantasy version of a wheelchair.

Bound and masked between them, knelt a woman.

Lightning crackled around Felix's form as he landed among them, briefly pulling him back upward and slowing his descent while also unleashing a wave of half-dried mud. Henaari stumbled back, mainly Dawnguard in their distinctive leather and horn armor. They had formed a protective ring around their people, with the majority of their force facing the direction of the Frost Giants. As Felix straightened, Vess landed just a few paces back, her own Skills blunting the impact.

"Autarch," the Farwalker said in cautious tones. The man was paralyzed, as far as Felix could tell, and wore a heavy, hooded cloak that completely obscured his face in shadow. He inclined his head to Felix, and then Vess. "And the Lady Dayne. Thank you for allowing us to rest within the haven of your Stronghold."

"You're welcome to rest, though you're here sooner than I had expected," Felix said. A'zek or Wyvora had clearly given the Farwalker an update on his situation. "Wyvora had left to find you, and I hear you arrived barely hours after she left. I thought you were heading to the Hoarfrost?"

"Circumstances within the FoglandsPardon me. Within Nagast. They have changed since last we met." The Farwalker moved forward, pushed from behind by Wyvora herself, his sort-of apprentice. "The lands abound with that same thickened mist as once plagued these forests and mountains. It has proven difficult to travel within."

"A spell of mine," Felix said by way of explanation. "A defensive one. I'm sorry if it caused you problems." Though he was surprised it was so thick as to limit the Henaari's movement within the Territory. Felix couldn't even see it around him, and none of his people had mentioned it as bothering them. Was there like a white list? People it doesn't effect?

The Farwalker waved a hand, as if uncaring about it. "No matter. We were already coming to you, to seek your judgement." He waved a wizened hand at the masked figure between them. "The Matriarch's crimes have come to light, as all things must."

Felix's Eye had confirmed it was the Matriarch as he'd fallen, and he stared curiously at her bindings. It was all a simple, braided rope, but the mask on her face was wooden and shaped into the visage of a hooded serpent. His Manasight picked up threads of power flaring along its rim and likely beneath the wood itself, Mana that seemed a combination of purple augmentation Mana, dusty brown earth Mana, and an oily sepia tone that he hadn't encountered much before. "What is with the mask?"

"It is a precaution and a dishonor," one of the Synod said. She was a slight woman for a Henaari, which meant she topped Felix by two inches, and had iron-grey hair cut into a practical bob at her jawline. She inclined her head at Felix a touch deeper than the Farwalker had done. "It disrupts the connection to her core space, to her Blessings, and silences her deceiving tongue."

"The Leviathan is the Endless Raven's greatest enemy, a serpent that dwells in the deepest dark and thrives upon secrets and lies," the Farwalker explained. "To be clad in its visage is to be given the greatest insult." He lifted a tattered book, the journal of a former Matriarch Felix had found months back. "The journal of our blessed leaderOcialashed much light upon the dark actions of this traitor. It was she who laced Ociala's food with subtle poison, who sabotaged her gear, and hid a monster lure within her belongings. The clues of it all, and Ociala's suspicions, all tidily written within this journal. When the extent of the Matriarch's deeds were discovered, she tried to run." The Farwalker shook his cowled head. "In your fog, she made it less than a mile before our scouts caught up with her."

"I see." Felix clenched his jaw. The treachery of the Matriarch didn't surprise him. The fact that she had something to do with the former Matriarch's fall? It made sense, if only based on how the woman had acted around Felix and his team when they'd first met.

"That is when her...newer actions came to light. The Dawnguard that she sent to follow you carried with them a dagger. An artifact of the Raven called a Dire Talon, a weapon that could end a life with no more than a scratch, or could be expended to claim a hidden space for the Raven. She has confessed that they were to claim your Temple, and kill you in the process." That same Synod member spoke again. She bowed at the waist, far lower than any so far. To Felix's surprise, all of the Synod and the crowd beyond did the same. Even Wyvora and the Farwalker. "We ask your forgiveness, Autarch. Though the Raven seeks out hidden things and to claim them for her own, She is not a creature of treachery. This...wretch's actions have marred all of us."

"We offer her up to you, for recompense and justice as you see fit, Autarch," the Farwalker continued. "This has moved beyond the purview of our people and even the Raven. As the wronged party and lord of these lands, you are the arbiter of her fate."

Felix regarded them all, calming his inner turmoil all the while. It sounded like they expected him to have her killed or something, and while he was disgusted that she had tried to snake the Temple out from under him, he didn't plan on murdering someone. Besides, he had a better idea.

He stepped forward six paces, feeling the anxiety in the Spirits of the Henaari watching. The fear. None of them wanted murder either, he could tell, but at the same time they were utterly committed to letting him choose. The Farwalker, of course, was a blank spot in his senses, but Felix was fairly certain he knew how the man felt toward the Matriarch. The bound woman's Spirit flared and shook, somehow aware that Felix approached, and she quietly began to fidget in her bonds.

She went deathly still as Felix laid a hand on her masked face. Right between the bulging eyes of the wooden snake.

"You have hurt your people far more than you've hurt me," Felix said to her, but not caring who heard him. "I will not kill you." A soft set of indrawn breaths came from the crowd, and the Matriarch trembled beneath his hand. "You will not thank me at the end, I don't think."

Chthonic Tribute!

Unite the Lost!

Acting on a hunch, Felix reached into the Matriarch with his newly evolved hunger and grabbed at her core space. He didn't seek to break her into Essence or drain her dry, but to instead seize a portion of her significance. It was like catching smoke, but Felix was able to claim a portion of itthen he burned it, letting Unite the Lost consume its potency. Fuel it.

A brilliant light burst from above, like a spear from the heavens but emanating from the Spirit Tree above them. The Matriarch screamed, her body wrenching backward as the light stabbed through her body and into the earth. Her scream transformed, mingled with the screeching crow of a thousand birds as a massive flock streamed from the light just above her chest. The Henaari cowered and Vess drew her spear, but the flock merely spiraled around the beam of light before vanishing into the distance. The light winked out.

The Matriarch's scream cut off, and she fell bonelessly to the ground.

Target has been cleansed of all Marks!

Felix stood over the woman's whimpering form before glaring at all the rest of them. "I've removed her Mark. Her connection to the Raven is gone."

More murmurs slithered through the crowd, now far more upset and disquieted. Even the Synod were exchanging furtive, terrified looks. Then the air above them all shook.

CAW!

THE RAVEN IS PLEASED!

ALL BLESSINGS HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE LEAST DAUGHTER!

CAW!

FOLLOW! ATTEND THE AUTARCH!

HE IS ANOINTED. HE IS UNBOUND.

HE WILL UNVEIL THE DARK.

Those murmurs turned to frantic rustlings and whispers, and the cry of "Unbound?" became a staccato punctuation upon everyone's lips. Felix, meanwhile, grit his teeth. He figured he couldn't keep that a secret forever, but the Raven had shit timing. Or she isn't as pleased as she claims, he thought.

"So you are Unbound," the Farwalker said with relief. "That explains a great deal, and yet reassures me not at all."

"Join the club," Felix said wryly. He frowned at the Raven's message. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

The Farwalker lifted his hands and pulled back his hood. The veil of shadows parted and revealed a lean but heavily wrinkled face with wide-set eyes and a large forehead. He grinned. "The Raven does not command us in all things, but She is our guiding light." The Synod had gathered close, talking among themselves. "I do believe your Stronghold has grown today, Felix Nevarre. Autarch."

Felix shot a glance at Vess, who smirked at him. He suppressed the urge to sigh. "That's what I thought you'd say."

As one, the Synod turned and dropped to a single knee.