Unbound

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty One - 321

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty One - 321

Kelgan dodged aside of a glowing sword larger than most wagons. He cleared it, but its impact against the cobbles hit him with a cushion of air that sent him sprawling. His armor and spear clattered across the ground, crashing painfully atop the unconscious Acolytes.

That thing hits harder than three Ogres! Kelgan thought as he struggled to his feet. Didn't even touch me and my Health dropped, his eyes bugged in alarm. Nearly half!

Kelgan leaned against his spear, only to find it give way beneath his weight. He stumbled, catching himself with the splintered haft of his weapon before casting it away. "Useless now."

A high songlike rain and wave against a narrow beachshook the air. The Guardian's next strike was fouled, pieces of its gauntlet and vambrace peeling off in great sheets of golden light. Yet still, the force of its blow buckled shields and crashed through the screen of defensive Skills, scattering their power and his people. Zara shot out another flare of humming bolts, and these detonated against the Guardian's pauldron and chestplate, taking chunks out of the solidified light. It barely flinched.

She's not enough. They were losing. It was so burning obvious she had expended herself in the Passages, and then spent herself again after too little time recovering. She had precious little left.

Rallying Cry!

All Allies' Regeneration Is Boosted By 50%!

Rallying Cry is level 64!

"Kelgan! Here!"

Spear or not, Kelgan almost threw himself at the voice before realizing he knew it. "Thangle! Where the hell are you?"

The air wobbled and then at his side appeared the wild-haired Gnome. His hand was outstretched and holding a pear-shaped bottle filled with a crimson liquid. "Take the blasted Health Potion, Lieutenant!"

He did. It tasted vile, but then Kelgan had never particularly liked the flavors of alchemy. Combined with the bonus to his regeneration, he could feel it knitting together pieces of himself. There had been leaking, he'd realized, and his Health stopped dropping before slowly reversing the damage. "Thanks."

"It was my last one," the Gnome admitted. "Kelgan. We gotta run if we wanna survive. Sound the retreat!"

"Can you hold that invisibility spell of yours for the whole group?"

"It's notNo. That's too much. I can handle four, maybe five people including myself," Thangle admitted with a scowl.

Kelgan reached down, grabbing another weapon. More a halberd than spear, though it'd do the trick. He'd trained with one before. "If you can't get us all outta here, then we go for the head."

Thangle followed his gesture, directly to the tall form of the Inquisitor still on the steps of the Waystone. Trails of golden light clung to the man's armor and hands, like puppet strings that connected to the Guardian of Faith currently stomping their friends.

"We take him out, this fight's over," he insisted.

"He's an Adept! He's fighting off Zara!" Thangle shook his head. His white hair quivered. "That Guardian would sense us before we ever get close enough to do any damage."

A flare of radiance was followed by the sound of crashing breakers, a peal of distant thunder, and the massive sword halted. The Inquisitor screamed and the Guardian pressed, all of its bulk behind its huge weapon. Kelgan noticedand judging by Thangle's pale face, he did toothe unspooling of green-blue light, ribbons that snapped atop the stalled blade. A sharp, tinny scream of sundered metal tore the air, and the Guardian's weapon vanished into golden smoke. His men cheered, heartened as they pressed the attack.

"No! Shields!" Kelgan hollered.

The warning was too late as the Guardian's wild haymaker swept in from their left. Zara, mage or not, squared herself off against it, taking it head on. She was launched into the Haarguard, the lot of them thrown from their feet as their weapons and limbs tangled with one another.

The Inquisitor laughed, and the Guardian stomped closer.

The array lit up, silver and gold lines that filled the entirety of the large chamber. The light of them revealed its size to be even larger than he estimated, and massive triangular crystals hung down from a vaulted ceiling covered in carved vines and organic shapes. The array sang to him, notes that shook his core with every wordless verse. Meaning was there, just outside comprehension, and all of it was focused on him.

State Your Name.

Beneath his feet, the blank stone glimmered with the beginnings of a complex glyph. But only the beginnings; it seemed to be waiting on his answer.

"Felix Nevarre."

Why Do You Seek Authority, Felix Nevarre?

Why Do You Seek The Crown?

"The crown?"

The rite! Answer truthfully and do not fear!

Nodding at Karys' advice, he licked his lips and muscled past the pain in his core space. "To help."

Gold and silver light arced all around him, spitting a choral chaos at him from every angle. The force of the Grand Harmony weighed against him like an avalanche, a crushing stone that threatened to grind him flat.

Reason Not Sufficient.

Redefine.

What? He searched for words, to boil down exactly what he was feeling since coming to the Continent. Power was a means of survival, at first. But somewhere along the lines, that changed. Transmuted. Why did he want Authority? What did it even mean? To be a ruler, like Cal? To reign over people like some noble? His Keen Mind threw back at him visions of people struggle with the burdens this world put on them, burdens that Felix inadvertently put on them when he'd landed in the Foglands those months back. So many dead, because the 'haves' could not let power into the hands of the 'have nots.' The partitioning of power and the gluttonous hoarding of secrets.

You cannot coddle them forever.

All of us, them included, have to live with the consequences of our decisions.

Danger abounds on the Continent. You do them no favors by protecting them from it. That is how it always has been, and always must be.

Zara's words echoed in his Mind, accompanied by visions of people lost beneath the claws of Revenants and Wretches, Arcids and the Reforged. His back curled under the weight of the array. Visions of his friends, allies, the random people he could recall with perfect detail, hurt by the Archon or the Maw or the Inquisition. At the mercy of the strong and cruel.

The array shoved at him, burned him. Gold and silver flared and shone enough to blind, to deafen. It begged an answer. A truth.

He recalled the hands of the divine pressing him, dropping him to his knees. Forcing his decisions no matter his Choices. Yet then, as before, Felix refused to be bent or broken. "No."

Reason Not Sufficient.

Redefine.

"You" he unbent his back, shoving with every ounce of Strength he possessed. A sharp whine cut through the Harmony. "You want me to name one thing, but I can't! I have a million! To protect! To thrive! To fight back!" Felix hurled the weight from his shoulders, and stood, utterly free of its insidious pressure. "I remade myself, and I can remake this too. I am me!"

Reason Not Sufficient.

Re

"I am Felix Nevarre! Born of my own Will! And I bow to no one."

The chamber lit. Gold and silver.

"In the name of the Duke, I condemn you!"

Kelgan gasped as, from above, a man fell from the dark sky. Stormwinds arrived with him, as clouds scudded across the clear night sky. Cloaks and capes snapped taut, and the light of the Guardian dimmed, ever so slightly.

"Your Duke holds no power here, Hand!" The Inquisitor turned his sharp smile up at the falling soldier, and the Guardian did the same. A new sword was conjured from its Mana, was lifted into a high guard. "Kill that man!"

The Hand's own unnaturally large sword was brought to bear, swinging down like judgement descending. His blade, wreathed in green-white air Mana, struck the Guardian's beam of golden light...and sheared right through it.

"No!" the Inquisitor howled.

The Hand hit the earth like a boulder, cracking cobbles and his greatsword continuing through the Guardian's defenses and into its right pauldron. At the same time, a gout of fire shot from the Guardian's wound, and its entire right arm exploded into burning motes of light.

The Inquisitor screamed, a high pitched thing draped in fear. It was so intense that it pulled Kelgan's attention away from the Hand now facing the Guardian in single combat. He looked, burning his Night Eye to make out details at his distance, and saw the Inquisitor hunched over while liquid dribbled down his gauntlet.

"He's hurt," Kelgan realized with a shock. The white-enameled armor is charred along his shoulder and bicep, and blood welled up from between a savage rent in the metal. "Thangle, make me invisible! While the Guardian is distracted!"

The Gnome followed his gaze, apparently, because he gave little resistance to the idea. "It's called Obfuscation! It simply redirects the eye!" Kelgan felt a warm power settle over him, like a cloak he couldn't see. "And I have to come with you!"

An aftershock of razor sharp wind tore ahead of them, slicing into the cobbles and through several of the unconscious Redcloaks. Neither stopped it much, and that was only a deflected blow by the Hand. Kelgan hustled forward, uncaring how much noise they made. The Inquisitor wouldn't be able to pick them out in the chaos. He hoped.

Golden flames swept over their heads and windblades scoured the square with increasing violence. The clash of the Adept Hand and Guardian of the Faith was colossal, each blow shaking the earth and rolling across Setoria like thunder. Time and again, Kelgan was thrown from his feet with only his stolen halberd to steady himself. Thangle didn't even have that, and was far smaller; the man fell many times and was once caught by flying debris across his eye.

Still, the two of them stumbled forward, both bleeding and drained. Redcloaksalive or deadlittered their path, and the aftershocks of every attack could mean nothing or the approach of Avet's dire scythe.

"ENOUGH!"

Kelgan dropped to his knees, Thangle close behind him, as the Inquisitor lurched forward and down several steps. His face was ashen and his right arm hung uselessly at his side. "You tangle with forces you do not understand, Darius Reed! Stand down and the Inquisition shall let you live. Stand down, and Pax'Vrell doesn't get razed next!"

The Hand parried a gigantic unarmed blow of the Guardian, yet still managed to bark a harsh laugh. "You think I trust your word, Redcloak? Your people nearly killed my ward in Haarwatch. There was no parley or mercy then. There will be no mercy now."

"Very well! Prepare to die, Chosen Hand! Heretic!" the Inquisitor screamed. Power swirled above them all, the sun appearing in the sky as if it were noon and not nearly midnight. The Guardian raged, slamming into the Hand with renewed fervor. Kelgan and Thangle crept forward, only ten strides away from the base of the stairs.

"Pathless, heed my call! I give unto you those who violate your High Laws! Violators of the truce you've long protected!" The Inquisitor stepped down another two steps, angling his head so that he was bathed in the light of the unnatural sun. "Help me end them! Let us wipe clean the impurity of this place!"

The sun burst, changing from an orb of riotous light to a sword that hung high in the sky above the square. A sword the size of the Waystone itself.

"Skyfall Judgement!"

Kelgan grabbed Thangle by the waist and ran with every ounce of Strength and Agility he could muster. The Gnome flailed, but he could be worried about it. He hit the base of the stairs. Just four more to go!

"Reed!"

"Zara!"

A thread of aquamarine Mana swept just above Kelgan's head, scoring the Waystone's walls and igniting an explosion of furious light behind him. Thangle screamed. Kelgan leaped, halberd thrust forward.

The square ignited, and a blast that somehow pulled everything inward dominated the space. The earth rocked, pitching upward and hurtling both Kelgan and the Inquisitor from their feet. The Redcloak screeched in pained alarm, finally noticing the spearman almost atop him.

Then the Guardian detonated.

Golden fire flared outward in a ring of refined Mana, vapor so thick it was a half-step from becoming liquid. It scorched Kelgan's back, pushing at him, but he would not be stopped. The Inquisitor writhed, his own flesh boiling, and was unable to stop the spike that stabbed through his skull.

You Have Killed An Unknown Inquisitor Of The Inviolate Inquisition!

XP Earned!

You Have Gained 1 Level!

You Are Now Level 58!

You Have 3 Unused Stat Points!

Kelgan felt the System's energy soak into his core, into him, but he hadn't the strength. He tipped, fell, but rough hands caught him by his jerkin.

"A good job, Lieutenant," the Hand said in a deep, tired voice. Kelgan was put back on his feet with a lurch. "You can stand?"

"A-aye, sir," he managed. Thangle was beside the Hand, looking unburnt but utterly drained. "Is it over?"

"Almost." The Hand bared his teeth at the thick door of the Waystone. "We'll take it from here."

"The Waystone is transmitting!" Zara gasped from behind them. She hobbled up the steps, her gait ruined by a bleeding leg. "Halt it, whatever you do!"

Kelgan gaped at the state of her, and then at her words. He'd barely pieced together how to run when the Hand demolished the thick double doors with a single blow.

Light and sound turned to pressure and pain, all of it fused into a single, exalted moment of transcendent song.

Congratulations!

You Have Established Territorial Authority!

Authority Accessed!

ERROR.

Dissonance reared its head, flitting through the notes of Harmony with an atonal shriek.

Unbound Detected.

Primordial Detected.

Nymean Detected.

...

Inheritor Status Supersedes All Bloodlines!

Harmony and Dissonance met, clashed, as they did within his core. And just as within him, they settled, filling in gaps neither had shone before the other's interference. Felix's entire being hummed like a struck key, rising and falling in equal measure.

Lightning and fire tore around him, igniting the gold and silver array. Anointing it. Beneath his feet, a glyph blazed to life, filled with blue-white and red-gold light in equal measure. It depicted a complicated mash of sigils, all of them forming the shape of a single eye surmounted by a crown with nine tines.

Authority Accessed.

Territorial Authority Established!

You Have Claimed The Lost Territory of Nagast!

Welcome, Inheritor!

"Oh," he said, blinking his eyes. The pain and pressure, all of it was gone. "Oh."

A sense of what he'd just accessed filled his Mind, the borders of the once-Territory of Nagast shown clear against a map from another Age. It spread, from the Bitter Sea in the west and south, to the Hoarfrost in the north, all the way to

"Holy crap."

Felix could feel the breadth of it all, like a limb he hadn't known existed. Mountains and forests and swamps and rivers, vague impressions for the most part, but it was there, etched on an ancient map in his Mind. He could even feel the influence of the Spirit Tree on the Territory, like a balm.

Due To Reviving A Spirit Tree On The Brink Of Extinction

Authority Has Been Increased!

A large menu appeared, floating in mid-air and glowing with a golden radiance. Like in Naevis, there were several tabs and much of it was greyed out, but a few pieces caught his eye.

"Mana Relay? Offensive and Defensive Arrays? Is this what I think it is?" Felix asked his sword.

It certainly seems to be. II recall a similar display in my own Family's Holding. I think. Look there, under Defensive Arrays.

Felix toggled that tab, and a list of illegible symbols populated his screen, all of them greyed out. All except one.

Mirk Enclosure - Ritual, Defensive Array, Tier IV

Effect: Encase your Territory in an impenetrable fog, invisible to your people within, but a physical and sensory barrier to all those without.

Initial Cost: 10,000 Mana/5,000 Essence

"Ten thousand Mana? Jesus. Wait, does that mean Essence is twice as potent as Mana?" Felix asked.

Of course it is.

"Why didn't you mention that before?"

Ibecause I only just remembered it. Karys went silent, humming to himself. I remembered something new.

"I'm happy for you and all, but let's focus." Felix read the description again, but it wasn't too informative. "What does it do?" He focused on it again, and this time pressed with his Affinity and Intent, and knowledge of the ritual swept through his Mind. How to perform it, how to fuel it, and even how to infuse it with a touch of his own potency. He felt at that connection, the one that had set him in such a panic. The fight raged on, inside a large stone building now, the tension still as thick as the fear coming from Zara. He had to help. He could make this work.

"The cost...I have enough if you can help me, Pit," Felix said, and was immediately met by acceptance. The tenku held wide their bond, and Felix could feel his Mana sitting there. As if he could reach out and grasp it with his hands. Warmth and affection and urgency colored their connection, and Felix didn't wait.

Etheric Concordance is level 73!

Etheric Concordance is level 74!

"Mirk Enclosure."

A pulse of Mana, Essence, and shimmering song bursting in all directions. It was like pure joy spun into threads of music and Intent, a shield woven of the powers of creation; it sent shivers through Felix even as his Mana tore painfully out of his channels. The silver and gold light was subsumed by red-gold flames and blue-white electricity as Felix poured himself into the glyph beneath his feet. His glyph, he realized. It was the last thought he had before his consciousness was consumed by the spreading roil of power.

It and he were swept outward, toward every border of his new Territory. He felt as if he could have followed its progression in all directions at once, but instead focused upon the rolling storm of potency that flashed into the east. Toward Haarwatch, and beyond.

The Inquisition wants to come for us? Then let them come! Pit sent, a screech of challenge that echoed across the vast terrain of his Territory. Caught up in the frenetic joy of the ritual, Felix couldn't help but howl along with him.

In Haarwatch, a fog wall roared from the wilds like the storm of the century. Blue-white lightning scattered across its face and the Fiend's Legion called desperately for citizens to take shelter. Yet it rolled past them, harmless as a summer breeze, the thick fog turning translucent as it advanced until it vanished utterly. Gasps of surprise and elation crossed the Legionnaires' faces as notifications popped before every single one of them.

The fog wall rolled on, catching people in the streets, in their homes and slowly rebuilt houses. People shouted at its approach, but every single one felt a jolt of power once it had enveloped them. A surge of potency that left thousands gasping.

Cal stood atop her balcony as it hit, and immediately felt the change. Her regenerations were boosted, and her Strength and Willpower increased by a flat 5%, all due to something her Status was calling a Boon. She barely had time to see that before another message superceded it. This one was framed in gold and was twice as large as any other.

A Defensive Array Has Been Activated For the Territory of Nagast!

Lost No More!

A New Territorial Lord Has Risen!

Cal laughed as she read the rest of the notification. "You son of a bitch."

Zara chased after Reed and Kelgan, weakened immensely by the power she had been forced to expend, but she would not trust this to others. The Waystone had to be shut down, and without the proper protocols, it would take either the finesse of a Master to accomplish, or the power of one. She had spent the latter, but the former was always to hand.

Yet she had gotten barely to the relay chamber, noting the redcloaked bodies on the ground, when a shimmering wave of power swept over everything she saw. A pulse that ate across hidden sigaldry in the walls, burning them out as it passed. Popping and sizzling filled the air, and then all was quiet.

What in Avet's name?

The magelights in the Waystone had snuffed out, so she conjured an orb of aquamarine light. It illuminated the relay chamber, a place where the complicated mechanisms of ancient etheric technology would shift and turn, pumping Mana into the spires above. Kelgan and Reed stood in the center, looking confusedly at everything.

"It all just...stopped," Kelgan said. "It was going, and thennothing."

Reed shook his head. "Was that you? Why have us race in here if you could shut it down with such ease? You damn near burnt the Waystone out!"

"It was not me," Zara said. She strode forward, keen to hide her weakness from the Hand's angry eyes. "And they had started the sequences already. There is no way to stop it at that point, not short of ripping it apart." She tapped the mechanisms, convoluted brass things that escaped her knowledge. "These are quite whole. That wave of magic disrupted it, somehow. Shut it down."

"Then who did this?" Reed growled.

They were all interrupted by a sudden, golden-framed notification.

A Defensive Array Has Been Activated For the Territory of Nagast!

Lost No More!

"A defensive array? I've never heard of Nagast," Reed said in confusion. His next words were interrupted by another notification.

A New Territorial Lord Has Risen!

All Hail The Inheritor, Autarch of Nagast, Felix Nevarre!

"WHAT?" Reed roared and Kelgan looked like someone had just saved his life.

Indeed he should. Zara could sense the power of the array that had enveloped half the city. It was a roiling fog that spread out of the Verdant Pass and over the majority of Setoria. Already, guards and other folk were testing it, and finding themselves unable to penetrate the dense mist.

Reed whirled on her. "What has the Fiend done?"

Zara's heart hammered, as she heard the threads that sang beneath the System message. She wanted to leap for joy and curse that Felix had ever left her sight. Those threads weren't just transmitting this message to her, but to everyone. The entire Continent.

A new power had arisen, an untested one in a land known to perhaps only the eldest of scholars, but which would soon be beset by those willing to test its borders. To test this new 'Autarch.'

"Avet help us all."